Is anyone else getting tired of pointless 3D in their films?

Following our not so successful film choice of "Magic Mike" my friends and I needed a little perking up, and what better than the newest "Ice Age" instalment "Continental Drift"? But, no, we'd timed it wrong! Tragic Mike (as it shall now, forever be known) went on for longer than we'd realised and the 3D showing had begun 15 minutes earlier? What were we to do?? "I know" said I, "let's go to the 2D showing instead and avoid the screaming-masses of children, the headaches and the red marks across our noses!" Met with a little scepticism by the men folk, the wives won-out and to the 2D showing we headed.


Unfortunately we were still accompanied by several dozen children of the screaming variety, but without the extra irritations of pinched noses and eye-blurring headaches we were much more chilled and prepared to tolerate a little childish exuberance.


The story was a triumph; touching and funny with just the right level of adult humour thrown in for the parents and the young-at-heart. And unlike certain other, tragic, films which shall remain nameless, they weren't too heavy handed with their "social conscience message."


Those of you who read my post on "Snow White and the Huntsman" would have noticed my waxing lyrical on Peter Dinklage. I admit this probably makes me a little biased, but his "Captain Gutt" was a pure class and wit. I also greatly enjoyed Wanda Sykes in the role of "Granny". 


I did wonder if the team could muster enough new material to pull off another caper from the Ice Age family, but they did it with style. It does beg the question, however, what's next? Ice Age: Extinction? 


And for the record, seeing it in 2D didn't mar the story whatsoever!


UK Rating: U
Year of Release: 2012
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Director: Steve Martino, Mike Thurmeier
Starring: Ray Ramano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Wanda Sykes, Peter Dinklage, Jennifer Lopez
Rating: 4.5 / 5

Tragic Mike

Why is it when an advert is misleading you can complain to the Advertising Standards Authority, but when a film trailer completely mis-sells their film all you can do is ponder the wasted price of admission?


I'm hardly a woman who enjoys regular trips to a male strip joint, but following trailers for Channing Tatum's latest film, "Magic Mike" I thought, what the hell, that looks like it could be fun, and so off I went with some friends prepared to have a bit of a giggle. A couple of hours later I was slumped in my seat, bored to tears, nursing a headache which resulted from the amount of eye-rolling and cringing I'd just endured.


I'll give Tatum his due, he'd clearly worked on his dance moves, and yes, arguably he has a good body, if you're into the  muscular pretty-boy look, but when he learnt how to dance did he forget how to act?


The other headliner, and I must admit the draw for me, Matthew McConaughey, was looking past his prime and once again delivered a stellar performance in the role of Matthew McConaughey...perhaps semi-nude aftershave adverts are truly his calling?


The acting and atrocious script aside, the film's biggest problem was it's plot. Instead of delivery, as promised in the trailer, a fun-filled slightly raunchy comedy, we were given a heavy-handed "drugs are bad, kids" pep-talk, with a little contrived romance storyline tacked on for good measure. Ladies reading this, please tell me, you're beloved younger brother gets seduced by money into taking a job as a male stripper and then falls heavily into drugs and almost dies as a result, would you fall for the man who got him into it? Didn't think so...


UK rating: 15
Year of Release: 2012
Genre: "comedy" drama
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer
Rating: 1/5 

Red light means stop...and, God, I wish they had!

Despite some pretty big names (Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Cillian Murphy) "Red Lights" seems to have shied away from the spot-light on it's release. With scarcely a trailer to be seen and some pretty large cinemas not screening it; my husband and I actually struggled to find a showing. We persisted, however, and with high expectations and the tolerance of saints, (the couple in the row behind appeared to have brought a picnic of noisy food with them) we eagerly watched...and then shrugged....and then yawned...and eventually looked at each other and said "what the f*ck was that ending about????"

Now I'm all for a film that makes you think, but surely Rodrigo Cortes wasn't hoping people would leave wondering what went wrong? I'm hardly ever an advocate for films being written and directed by the same person and this demonstrates exactly why it doesn't work. Not everyone can be a Quentin Tarantino, and Cortes certainly doesn't achieve anything close to his wit and style.

As you'd expect Weaver and De Niro delivered believable charismatic characters, and Murphy certainly committed to his role. The initial concept is pretty good, but that's where it ends. 

UK rating: 15

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Drama Horror Thriller

Director: Rodrigo Cortes

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Cillian Murphy, Elizabeth Olsen
Rating: 2 / 5

Headache from hell, I know, I'll go see Rock of Ages!!

Ok, so maybe going to see a film filled with "rock" music wasn't the best idea when I had the headache from hell, but after the initial discomfort the headache melted away and I sat back to enjoy a funny, surprising, entertaining couple of hours.


So the plot is a little thin and the dialogue, in places, is just filler between rock ballads, but all in all I loved it! I even tolerated Russell Brand and his horrendous Northern accent!


And Tom Cruise can sing...who knew?!

UK rating: 12a

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Comedy Musical

Director: Adam Shankman

Starring: Diego Boneta, Julianne Hough, Tom Cruise, Malin Akerman, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta Jones, Paul Giamatti

Rating: 4 / 5

was it worth the wait?

Well anyone who isn't new to my blog will remember several months back my exciting at the first trailers for "Prometheus" so you may be surprised to learn it's taken me over a week to get around to seeing it. Sadly my husband and I promised to wait and see it with a friend of ours so I have been carefully avoiding any reviews & critiques and (somewhat) patiently waiting; filling the cinema-void with atrocities like "What to expect when you're expecting"...it's not been easy!


So, was it worth the wait you may ask? Over all I'd have to say yes!


There have been numerous interviews with Ridley Scott and stars of the film stating that this is not in fact a prequel to the original "Alien" films. Well all I can say to you, Mr Scott, is liar, liar pants on fire! There were so many nods to the original films that it started to feel like a piece of fan-fiction paying tribute to the master! On the way out of the cinema I even heard someone utter in sarcastic delight, "could they have made her look any more like Sigourney Weaver?!"


The plot kept moving at a reasonable pace, but I can't help but feel that it should have been 30 minutes longer in order to fill in some of the blanks. Generally the acting standard was very high and I can't recall any really cringe-worthy performances. However, Guy Pearce may as well not have shown up for work since his many talents were hidden beneath several layers of latex and make-up - what a waste! - and I do not understand the accolades being laid at Michael Fassbender's feet? Given his usually robotic performances I wouldn't have thought playing an android was that much of a stretch for him! 


While there were some grim moments that made me shudder, I feel that this is another film that's fallen victim of the classification board...why go for a 15 rating and censor yourself when you could accept an 18 and make a thing of gore-rich beauty? It's been 33 years since "Alien" came out, you must realise that the bulk of your core audience will be over 18?!


Having slept on it for a night and picked as many holes as I can, I am a little underwhelmed by the film as a whole, however, I did enjoy it and I would still recommend you see it for yourselves!

UK rating: 15

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Action Horror Sci-fi

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Snow White...and the politically incorrect dwarves!

Why do they do this to themselves? 
Film Makers, take note, hyping up your film for a full year before it's release is never a good idea! Invariably you'll create unreachable audience expectations and get slammed by the critics the second the film opens! 


While there are many things to praise the film for, not least of all the CGI which managed to tread that fine line between fantasy and reality very well, there were just as many things to criticise.


Let's start with their casting choices...


Did no-one give Ms Stewart the memo that this wasn't another Twilight film, or does she only know how to play pale, whiny victims? Obviously I can't speak for every film she's been in, (I have a low tolerance level for "stars" who think their mere presence on a film-set makes them an actor) but it does seem that wherever she crops up someone is trying to kill her...even as far back at 2002s "Panic Room" (when I couldn't decide if her character was a boy or a girl) there she was; pale, complaining, tantalisingly close to death...


But let's be fair, she was not the only daft choice the casting team made, and support group "Little People of America" agree with me on this one! Why, oh why would you cast hammed-up "stars" like Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone and Ian McShane to play dwarves when there are actors like Peter Dinklage out there who could act them off the screen? Anyone who has seen Dinklage's portrayal of Tyrion Lannister on HBO's "Game of Thrones" series can attest to his brilliance, and if you're still not sold then I appeal to you to watch one of my favourite films "The Station Agent", you won't be sorry!


However, actors aside there are other problems with this fairy-tale adaptation, perhaps most troubling to me is that they don't have a clear idea what market they want to pitch to...


Is this a re-telling of the Disney-fied fairytale aimed at children? They kept their rating as low as possible to open it up to that audience, so maybe...


Or were they hoping to get the young female teen market by casting the tiresome Ms Stewart and giving us some eye-candy in the form of Chris Hemsworth? 


Perhaps this was meant to be a more fantasy-based true telling of the original Grimm's fairytale, (I confess what I had hoped for) no doubt hoping to capitalise on the recent successes of the like's of Game of Thrones, in which case where was the gore? The Blood? The guts? How can you tease us with acting heavyweights like Charlize Theron, talking about consuming Snow White's heart, but then not provide us with that blood-dripped imagery?


Surely one of the fundamentals of any successful film, particularly an adaptation of such a hackneyed story, is to know your audience and pitch accordingly? It's very rare a film can genuinely appeal to so many different markets, and sadly, in this case, I think it failed to deliver on any level.






UK rating: 12a

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Action Adventure Drama

Director: Rupert Sanders

Starring: Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth

Rating: 2 / 5

Was expecting more from "What to expect..."

To say that I was disappointed in this film implies I was expecting something other than what I got. Oh no! I went into this film with low expectations which were quickly met, and, with the appearance of every actor/actress I know and have any respect for, those expectations were adjusted slightly lower! In fact I spent most of the latter half of the film wondering if Cameron Diaz had had some work done or whether she's just ageing incredibly badly...anything rather than focus on the drivel-of-a-script being delivered by the likes of Dennis Quaid and Elizabeth Banks and, (yes I'll admit to liking her) Jennifer Lopez...(watch "The Cell", then judge me!)


The set up was fairly standard for this new breed of self-help-book turned Rom-Com genre. Middle class, 75% white cast with a token black or Latino actor thrown in for good measure. No-one is on the bread-line, no-one is divorced, no-one is gay or leads any sort of alternative lifestyle...


Of course there had to be a miscarriage storyline in order to blanket-cover all the potential problems that can crop up during pregnancy and wouldn't you just know that it's the young unmarried couple that get to play those parts. Heaven forbid the writers be seen to imply that sex and childbirth outside of marriage is an acceptable lifestyle choice...Bastards being born in a 12a film? Goodness, no!


To my mind the only thing qualifying this as a comedy was the few brief moments of mild comic relief which came in the form of "The dudes group." Although, to be frank, not even stories of children swimming in toilets and eating cigarettes could save this smulchey, overly-sentimental, Nora-Ephron-style piece of tripe...to steal a line from the film, "I'm calling it, <this film> sucks!"






UK rating: 12a

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Comedy Drama Romance

Director: Kirk Jones

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock, Matthew Morrison

Rating: 0.5 / 5

Does anyone actually remember what happened in MIB2?

I was determined I'd find out what happened in MIB2 before going to watch the 3rd instalment, but at crunch time I decided it probably wasn't important...and I was right! "Men in Black 3" can stand on it's own as a very reasonable comedy sci-fi.


The CGI and 3D effects clearly demanded a fair chunk of their budget, and thank goodness it did because it was pretty-damn-good, but for me, the real highlight, was some stand-out performances from the lesser known actors;


Josh Brolin (okay, not lesser-known, but not a headliner) playing a young Tommy Lee Jones, far surpassed my expectations and I actually had to keep reminding myself this was a different actor. 


Jermaine Clement, (Boris the Animal) was a treat to my ears, and I spent the entire film trying to place who he reminded me of...(Tim Curry in "Rocky Horror picture show" as it turns out!) He's a new name and face to me, and if he is to you as well, do me a favour, after you've watched the film, go to this link and tell me if you think his IMDB profile picture does him justice!


Another new name to me was Michael Stuhlbarg, playing future-reading alien, Griffin. Not an Oscar-worthy performance, perhaps, but he certainly managed to hold his own up against some pretty big names, and I'll certainly watch out for him in the future.


For me, the only real let down, came from the 2 headlines. Jones scarcely featured and I wonder if this caused some bitterness on his part as he played his part with underwhelming enthusiasm...and as for Will Smith, ARGH! The man makes me want to scream, and not in a good way! I know he can act, I've seen him do it, but here he just reverted back to playing the character Will Smith...


Clearly a marked improvement on, the highly forgettable, MIB2. Not without it's faults, but definitely worth a trip the cinema.

UK rating: PG

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Action Comedy Sci-Fi

Director: Barry Sonnerfeld

Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson

Rating: 3 / 5

no-one's holding a gun to my head but...

Let me state for the record, no-one is holding a gun to my head, or has my family held up in the next room with a bomb, but I actually enjoyed The Dictator!


Against all of my instincts I found myself giggling throughout Sacha Baron Cohen's latest offering. Okay so the humour is a little obvious and at times even infantile, and yes it's fair to say that subtlety is not his gift, but this had me laughing! Worth a watch and have fun counting cameo appearances!

UK rating: 15

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Comedy

Director: Larry Charles

Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen

Rating: 3 / 5

Dark Shadows not dark enough

My husband and I have recently signed up to Cineworld's unlimited passes in an attempt to save a little money, and so of course we want to try and take full advantage of them, but it was slim pickings this weekend I have to say. Now I'll be the first to admit I've not exactly hidden my admiration of Tim Burton in the past, and, for me, there's just one word to describe Johnny Depp - "Grrrr" - which made my choice simple. This said, however, I left feeling let down and I can find very little to praise in their latest collaboration "Dark Shadows".


The decision to set the film in the 1970s still isn't clear to me, and while it's not necessarily a bad one, and yes the soundtrack is entertaining, it was somewhat akin to watching a play while at a disco.


To list the film as a comedy was a mistake. I doubt any Burton fan would go expecting light-slapstick humour, but his trade-mark brand of dark humour was a little on the light-side and the more obvious comic moments fell a little flat.


It pains me to say it, but even Depp wasn't doing it for me. His performance seemed a little lacklustre and it made me wonder if he really wanted to do the film...


For me the only real highlight was at the climax of the story where I caught a glimpse of my old friend's style with some truly Beetlejuice-esque cinematography. 


My only advice is lower your expectations before viewing!

UK rating: 12a

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy

Director: Tim Burton

Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfieffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Lee Miller

Rating: 1.5 / 5

I'm back, now bring on the films!

I doubt anyone has missed me, but I must apologise for already failing in my target of 1 review a week as I've spent much of the last month lying flat on my back - and not in a good way...slipped discs are not fun!

Anyway, I'm back and to prove it I'm here, and I bring you my thoughts on the latest comic-book caper; Avengers Assemble:

Firstly, let me say that this is very much a case of you get what you pay for - I doubt anyone would go into this film expecting plot twists and character development. This is very much meant to be a fun, sometimes silly, action film, and, thanks to the writing and direction of Joss Whedon that's exactly what you get.

It does amaze me how often critics review a film like this but try to grade it against a curve that includes the classics. Just this morning I read a Yahoo! article talking about Samuel L Jackson taking to twitter to complain about the NY Times reviewer, AO Scott, who said, and I quote;

“The light, amusing bits cannot overcome the grinding, hectic emptiness, the bloated cynicism that is less a shortcoming of this particular film than a feature of the genre.”

Oh dear! Well Mr Scott, you're watching a film which features Chris Evans wearing what can only be described as a unitard carved from an American flag, for the majority of the film, were you really expecting Shakespeare? I admit that over the last decade I've quietly groaned every time a new Marvel superhero film has been announced, but for the most part they're inoffensive and fun. Surely that's something we all go to the cinema for? Entertainment?

If you're expecting ground-breaking cinematic magic, this film probably isn't for you, but for a rainy bank-holiday-weekend amusement you can do far worse! The story develops at a good pace, which is no mean feat when you consider the amount of characters they had to bring together. The action sequences are entertaining and at points had the whole audience roaring with laughter. Good ol' Whedon keeps the humour PG but without losing his creative flare...(the "muling quim" comment still makes me chuckle)...All-in-all well worth a watch!

UK rating: 12a

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Director: Joss Whedon

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L Jackson, Chris Hemsworth

Rating: 3.5 / 5

How can you not have seen a Clint Eastwood film???

It's currently 5:09am on a Sunday morning so I apologise in advance if this post makes little sense, but having laid awake in bed for the last hour I decided to admit defeat and just get up...which is when I came across the following facebook comment from my sister-in-law:

Jude

Just watched True Grit and it occurred to me that I've never seen a movie starring Clint Eastwood. Any suggestions?

After picking my jaw back off the floor I read the other suggestions, which can only be described as the usual suspects ("The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", "Unforgiven", "Dirty Harry") Personally, I can think of no better film to recommend than "Gran Torino". (may contain spoilers)

Actior/Director legend Eastwood plays a Korean war veteran, Walt Kowalski, who can only be described as a racist, bitter and disgruntled old man. Since the death of his wife, Walt wants nothing more than to be left alone with his dog to sit on his front porch, drinking a few beers and waiting to die and bring as much inconvenience as possible to his thankless children and grandchildren.

When a Hmong family move in next door he thinks the neighbourhood is going to hell and the unrelenting visits from Father Janovich (Christopher Carley) only seem to prove it. The final straw comes when teenage neighbour Thao (Bee Vang), under pressure from a gang, attempts to steal his prized, mint condition,  1972 Gran Torino. Kowalski takes action and decides to teach the kid some responsibility and inadvertently takes him under his wing, soon becoming the families father-figure and protector.

If Clint Eastwood alone isn't enough to sell you on this film there are some beautiful performances from the supporting cast, particularly Bee Vang. The scenes between Eastwood and his neighbours are both touching and, at times, humorous, and I especially love the interplay between Eastwood and the grandma character. However, it's the  ending that, for me, just cements this film as one to watch, being both clever and completely filled with pathos.  

I can't bring myself to ruin the end for you all, but all I will say is that his dog makes me cry every time!

UK rating: 15

Year of release: 2008

Genre: Drama

Director: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang

Rating: 4.5/5

21 Jump Street

Wow! I was not expecting to enjoy  "21 Jump Street" at all, but it actually had me laughing the entire time.


The interplay between Jonah Hill  and Channing Tatum  was wonderful, and I was pleasantly surprised by Tatum's ability to play a comic role. The humour, while at times gross-out, was often subtle and satirical; broadening it's market appeal. I also loved the unexpected cameos towards the end, which, without wishing to give too much away, were a nice nod to the 1980s series by the same name.


Let's be honest, this is not a high concept film that's going to change the way we think about cinema, but if you need a good laugh you could do far worse!


UK rating: 15
Year of release: 2012
Genre: Action, Comedy
Director: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube
Rating: 4 / 5

Hungry for more!

All too often I'll see a trailer and think "wow, that looks really good," only to be left disappointed when I discover that said trailer contained the only good bits of the film!


I've been looking forward to "The Hunger Games" since I saw the trailer a few months back and for once I haven't been left wanting...


The "games" are a fight to the death between 24 young people selected from the 12 districts of Panem. The story centres around Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) who volunteers to take her younger sisters place as tribute in the annual Hunger Games. Taken to the Capitol to be trained and paraded in front of influential and blood-thirsty viewers, Katniss and the other 23 are then thrust into the wilderness with limited supplies in the sure and certain knowledge that only one of them can survive to become this year's victor.


Given the nature of the story I was a little perplexed at the 12a rating, so my husband and I were careful to pick a showing during school hours to allow us a child-free viewing, (something I'd recommend if you have any choice in the matter.)  The story progresses at a reasonable pace with believable character development and some lovely performances from the likes of Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci. I was even pleasantly surprised by Lenny Kravitz!


As you'd expect the writers and director are careful to keep our heroine's hands relatively clean, in what could have been a blood-bath of a film. Thankfully, however, they weren't too shy of the necessary brutality elsewhere, showing just enough violence and gore to satisfy the storyline without pushing their rating up to a 15. All-in-all, it's left me hungry for more...


UK rating: 12a
Year of release: 2012
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Drama
Director: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks
Rating: 4.5/5

Ooh this should be good!

Prometheus trailer
(Link above should open in a new window)  
Before things started to get silly and the Aliens met the Predators, an amazing cast met a brilliant director and 1979's "Alien" was the result.
Now I'm never usually a fan or prequels, they usually elicit a cry of "come up with something original for crying out loud" but this could actually be good...good ol' Ridley Scott is back, and despite some relatively inexperienced writers the project attracted a pretty good-looking cast including Noomi Rapace (of Girl with a Dragon Tattoo fame) Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron.
Take a look at the trailer and let me know what you think...are prequels always a mistake?

Recipe for a psychological horror

1. Start with an isolated, slightly dilapidated, location - old manor houses work well for preference.
2. Take a few creepy looking children and film them in drab, shadowy lighting.
3. Throw in some well-crafted CGI effects.
4. Finally stir together with some music designed to amp-up the tension...


Now don't worry if the plot starts to look a little thin because the CGI and suspense will cover for that...and voi-la...


"The Woman in Black"...


The story sees solicitor Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) travelling to a remote Northern village to settle the affairs of a deceased client. Once there he receives a less than friendly welcome from the villagers who clearly want him to leave. In spite of this he presses on and arrives at the isolated and run-down Eel Marsh House; complete with it's cobwebs and paintings of dreary-faced former occupants, the property even boasts its own cemetery....surely nothing bad could happen here...


Truthfully this is not my favourite genre of film. Personally I can handle the blood and guts that accompany most horror films, and I find serial killers and human violence fascinating, but give me a well told ghost story and some paranormal activity and my spine turns to jelly! That said, I did manage to sit through it, (albeit behind laced fingers part of the time) and besides an incident with my cat jumping on the bed in the middle of the night I suffered very few after effects from it...


The film had everything working for it, from the casting to the light-direction to the abundance of creepy children, but after the initial hit of fear you start to analyse the plot and things just don't add up: After the first incident in the house, even the most inept viewer is silently screaming "don't go back to the house" (but where would any horror/thriller be if the lead character behaved in a rational manner??) The whole story seemed to lack much plot development and flow, choosing instead to concentrate on increasing the tension with yet another ghostly incident. However, perhaps the worst piece of plot development came when Radcliffe decides to take a late night swim in the boggy water by the house. It's difficult to go into more detail without also providing a spoiler alert, but what character, in their right mind, would do that...at night...in the pitch black...with very little idea of the conclusion?


So, how did Daniel Radcliffe's first cinematic offering since the "Harry Potter" series, fair? Well, it was lovely to see an all-British cast in a British film, for a change, and Radcliffe held his own for the most part, but for me Jane Goldman's adaptation from the novel didn't flow as well as it could, so over-all worth a watch but not likely to be making any top 10 lists.

UK rating: 12a 

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Drama / Horror / Thriller

Director: James Watkins

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciaran Hinds

Rating: 3.5/5

Wanderlust; not quite wonderful...

Let me be clear from the beginning, I am not exactly Jennifer Aniston's biggest fan - (in fact,with the exception of "The Good Girl", back in 2002, I'm usually booing, internally, whenever she comes on screen) - I also, typically, avoid films starring Paul Rudd as I find them to be over-indulgent plays to the male ego with unbelievable male characters, vapid female ones and obviously plot development....however, I saw the trailer for "Wanderlust" some time ago and something about it made me hopeful, so this evening, my husband and I, went to see it...

I don't think I'm giving away too much by telling you that the story revolves around George (Rudd) and Linda (Aniston), who, after losing their jobs, home and New York-lifestyle move to Atlanta to stay with George's brother. On the way they take the (obligatory) detour, which finds them spending the night at Elysium, a hippy commune by any other name, and of course hilarity ensues...or so the script writers hoped.

The film certainly boasts some colourful characters, and it's a joy to see Alan Alda back on the big screen, but for every laugh-out-loud moment there were at least two cringe-worthy ones...(I reference Paul Rudd's rant into the mirror in particular here.)

The plot followed the standard rules of the Rom-Com genre, with the usual suspects learning their lessons and getting us to the happy-ending we all seek from this type of film. The writers managed to skilfully avoid the pitfalls of  taking any political or serious standpoint on any of the issues raised within the film; the bad guy loses out and the hero & heroine go off into the sunset to live happily ever after...all-in-all "Wanderlust" delivered exactly what you'd expect...

UK rating: 15 

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Director: David Wain

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Alan Alda, Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman

Rating: 3.5/5

Something to look forward to!

Frankenweenie Trailer


If, like me, you're a fan of Tim Burton's animation-creations you probably sat up and took notice of the trailer for "Frankenweenie" that's recently started doing the rounds. (Link above - should open in a new window)


In style, there's no doubting that this is a Burton creation, with obvious design similarities to his 2005 release, "Corpse Bride", and the use of the name Victor for his main character, but what else are we looking for in a Burton animation?


Personally I love his ability to blend comedy with horror and the use of Danny Elfman music is just the bow on top of the present, but it's his story-telling and narrative that keep me coming back for more. He weaves his special gift for the dark and melancholy into every story before livening things up with a song and a dancing Boogie Man. 


"Frankenweenie" is due for release, in the UK, in October, just in time for Halloween, and it'll definitely be making my list of must see cinema - what are you all looking forward to and why?

Redemption for an old favourite...

I’ve thought long and hard about what film I should write about first: Should it be the last thing I saw at the cinema? That would be “Safe House” and although I quite liked it I don’t think it deserves top billing. Perhaps the last film I watched at home? That would be the 2^nd half of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” which I watched while chopping onions for dinner the other evening…but this has the potential of marking me out as a Chick Flick kinda gal, and as I said in my last post my tastes run to the eclectic…

I thought that maybe I should start with a bad film and get you all acclimatised to my barbs and caustic sense of humour, but better you discover that over time…

So, at the risk of eliciting some groans, I’ll discuss one of my favourite films – “The Shawshank Redemption.”

This may be a phenomenon common only to Britain, but has anyone else noticed that the bigger a film gets; the more critical acclaim it receives and the more box office success it enjoys, the more we seem to parody and mock it later on? 

I’ll give you an example: “Titanic.” Raise your hand if you went to see it at the cinema back in 1997 and left feeling suitably impressed at the cinematography and stunts? Granted I also left feeling mildly irritated by Kate Winslet’s accent and James Cameron’s decision to cast, what looked like, a 13 year-old boy as the male lead. I was even bordering on annoyed with the choice of music, but I’ll give the film it’s dues, it was very impressive and it deserved the accolades it received. Fast-forward a few years and the criticism and mocking is rife.

When a similar situation occurred in the wake of “Avatar” I had hoped that this was a Cameron-specific occurrence, but alas I appear to have been mistaken as now even my beloved Shawshank receives groans and has apparently become a little hackneyed…well today I fly in the face of controversy and defend my choice!

Evolving from a short story by Stephen King, the film, set in Shawshank Prison, tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) after he is found guilty for the murder of his wife and her lover. Told from the perspective of “Red” (Morgan Freeman), a fellow inmate, we see the quiet, sometimes quirky Andy; use his skills from his past life to develop friendships on the inside.

There’s little I can criticise about this film. The writing, the choice of location, the acting, the soundtrack…it all just works. While the overall theme of redemption is brilliant with every viewing I find another character or plot device to love, but without fail Brooks Hatlen has me in tears every time.

Some trivia for those of you who also know and love this film, both Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford were considered for the role of Red, who was originally a red-haired Irishman, before director Frank Darabont cast the amazing Morgan Freeman in the role.

While I find it hard to believe that anyone hasn’t already seen the film, I won’t give any of the plot away; just watch it and thank me later.

UK rating: 15 

Year of release: 1994

Genre: Drama

Director: Frank Darabont

Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Clancy Brown, William Sadler

Rating: 5/5

Welcome!

Have you ever started to say something and then realised, “that’s a line from a film!”? Or better still, have you ever said something and thought, “That should be a line from a film”? This is something that happens to me all the time. Film and cinema not only influence me; they inspire me and make me wish I were involved in some way. Sometimes even the worst pieces of cinematic garbage get my creative juices flowing and for a brief moment I feel secure in the knowledge that I could have done it better…

In my mind I have critiqued, written, directed, cast actors, picked music and even, on occasion, acted, and for a short time this can be satisfying, but it always leaves me wanting more…and so welcome to my very first blog!

Here I will be reviewing, critiquing and admiring all things film. While I love a trip to the cinema I will be looking at the classics too…and sometimes pushing the definition of the word classic…I have a very eclectic taste so no genre is barred and I’m always open to suggestions for future viewing. Inspired by the film Julie & Julia I’m setting myself a target of at least 1 review a week, and in true High Fidelity style I’ll be throwing in the occasional top 5 list. My style can lean towards the sarcastic, and sometimes even caustic, but I do give credit where credit is due and I promise always to warn you if there is a spoiler coming up. So if this sounds like something you’d enjoy then please; read on, leave feedback and get involved!