October 2011

Quite a range of film watched this month, although I didn’t fancy the King’s Speech and can’t see myself changing my mind any time soon!

Little Fockers:

I can’t say I’ve ever been a fan of this series on films, but thought I would go against my better judgement and watch the latest version.

In general I like Ben Stiller movies, and anything where he works with Owen Wilson should be a good thing, but in a word......NO!

Comedy – Rating:
1 out of 5 (funny, but encourages me to stick to my gut, hence I’m never watching the King’s Speech)

Pirates of the Caribbean – On Strangers Tides:

For a movie franchise based out of an amusement ride at Disneyland, I have to admit they have done well. The first film in the series was excellent, with a strong cast throughout, and when they wanted to make the 2^nd and 3^rd films, the producers did manage to squeeze an almost consistent storyline throughout them all. However with Orland Bloom replacing Davy Jones “at world’s end” there is just no workable way to make a fourth instalment (and I hear their planning a fifth).

Yes I’ll admit that Jonny Depp as Jack Sparrow is a great movie role, but a Pirates without Kiera Knightley just isn’t worth watching!

So with no Orlando and Kiera my expectations were pretty low, and then there’s Blackbeard.....whoever thought of casting Lovejoy in the role really does need shooting!

We end up with by far the worst of the Pirates series, but can be quite an enjoyable film if you can’t remember the first three.

Fantasy Adventure – Rating:
3 out of 5 (how long can Jonny Depp keep this franchise going)

Tangled:

Now this isn’t really my type of film, and I’m not 100% sure how it ended up on my Lovefilm list, but I thought I watch it for the amusement factor.

Now I shouldn’t have to explain the story of Rapunzel, but modern animation really does revitalise these classic tales. In general the film was fun with the horse being my favourite character. All-round good family entertainment.

Kid’s film – Rating:
4 out of 5

The Social Network:

Yes I use Facebook, but no I don’t want to watch a movie about it! Or at least I didn’t think I wanted to.

I had been putting off watching this for some time and I’ll be the first to admit that was a mistake. This film is brilliant!

Now I have no idea how truthful the movie is, or how realistic the portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg is, but I don’t care.

Jesse Eisenberg is great all the way through and even Justin Timberlake’s performance makes me want to have a beer with Sean Parker.

If you use Facebook you simply have to see this movie, even if you avoid it and prefer Twitter it’s a must see........... hell if you own a computer (which is probably a given as your reading this blog) I can’t emphasise enough how much you need to check this out!

Biographic Drama – Rating:
5 out of 5

September 2011

It’s been a while since I updated this blog, as one article per movie is just too tricky to fit into my busy schedule!

So from now on I’m going to do a monthly update covering a summary of each of the movies I’ve watched, however I have a bit of catching up to do.

Luckily my LoveFilm subscription keeps a record of the movies I have rented, so at least I know where to start.

Season of the Witch:

Well there’s one big negative from the very start and that’s down to the fact that Nicholas Cage is playing an action hero, which I have never thought he does well. So this turns out to be another pretty average Cage film. The one positive about the film is Ron Pearlman, who delivers a typical performance in his typical role. General plotline is a little iffy and not the easiest to understand the point of the movie. So I come away with one thought, which is the way I’m generally left after a Cage film, wondering how much better could this have been with a different leading man!

Action and Adventure – Rating:
2 out of 5 (propped up by some good action scenes)

How do you Know:

Looking at the cast list everything looks promising, Owen Wilson – always funny, Jack Nicholson – never fails to deliver a great performance, Reese Witherspoon – truly beautiful and enjoyable to watch, and Paul Rudd – who I have to say is one of my favourite actors around today.

Well I have to say, it did deliver!

Although this was a pretty predictable chick flick, the bizarre characters and irregular storyline made for a very enjoyable film. In general very funny, with some outstanding lines from all the cast, with a highlight being when Rudd literally runs away from bad news!

RomCom – Rating:
4 out of 5

Sucker Punch:

Now this was at the very top of my LoveFilm list for some time. The trailers I had seen on TV looked impressive, with amazing action scenes and stunning cast members, however there was very little mention of the actual storyline which sheds a different light on the movie.

So the film starts with the death of “babydoll’s” mother, which leaves her open to the abuse of her Stepfather. Although she tries to put an end to this abuse by shooting him, only to accidently kill her young sister she was trying to protect. The result of this being that she is sent to a mental institution, where she is subject to further abuse by the Porters and orderlies!

The only way to cope with the situation is to retreat to an alternate reality, which translates to her and the other patients now being Erotica dancers/strippers/hookers for the now “Pimp” head orderly, which in turn requires its own escapism when it’s the girl turn to “perform”.

Now this 3^rd level of reality is where the action happens! babydoll works with the other elite warrior chicks to conquer a series of demons and challenges in order to gather the items needed to escape the brothel..... mental asylum.

The real world story line is only ever seen when the actions scenes end badly, and this results in very uncomfortable viewing. You can’t ignore the base reality, which is very disturbing, this then makes watching the young girls dressed as strippers very awkward too. It’s a shame really, as the action scenes in the 3^rd level alternate reality is truly spectacular.

Although it works out kind of alright in the end, the lead character does end up getting a frontal lobotomy, which is never a good way to end a movie!

Fantasy Adventure – Rating:
2 out of 5 (uncomfortable watching)