Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Ahh two cinema trips in a week. This is more like it. And what's more two good films in a week. Success.

   Crazy, Stupid, Love is a quirky, funny and refreshing (yes it is possible) chick flick, about the marriage of Cal (Steve Carrell) and Emily (Julianne Moore) which is pretty much falling apart after Emily has an affair and asks for a divorce. Whilst feeling like his life is falling apart, and acting quite pathetic, Cal is taken under the wing of the unlikely Jacob (a very swoonable Ryan Gosling) who is given advice on how to pull himself together, dress fashionably and pull women. On the other side of this, we also have a realtionship between Jacob and Hannah (an always brilliant Emma Stone) whose unlikely romance is sweet and awww inducing.

   I know, on paper, it sounds quite predictable and goofy, like most of the wishy washy rom-coms that are produced, and there are some things about it that are a teeny bit cringeworthy. For instance moments with Cals thirteen year old son and his crush on his 17 year old babysitter, are just a little, well, creepy. Moore is also not up to her normal excellent standard; not portraying her characters strengths, and Kevin Bacon is really quite under used.

   However, lets not focus on the few negatives. Firstly, I love Ryan Gosling. He has absolutely just shone in the last year or so. Giving a brilliant performance in Blue Valentine and also the very highly critically acclaimed "Drive". In this role, he is back to the buff and beautful love interest (that he played so well in The Notebook). Jacob, however does not resemble Goslings previous roles. He is cocky, arrogant, pretentious, very beautiful, and very likeable. When he is on screen, it brightens up. What makes the room brighter is when Stone enters with him. I cannot praise this girl enough. She just has some very dry humour about her that is so attractive. It will be interesting to see her play very different roles in both "The Help" and "Spiderman".

   Of course, we cannot forget Carell, playing as he most often does, the predicatable and likeable "every guy". He gets put into these same roles because he does it very well, this film being no exception. There are some very sweet words and moments shared between him and Moore, and some funny bromance moments between him and Gosling.

Overall, this is the sort of film that leaves you with the very rare (now-a-days) warm, fuzzy, loving feeling, (others may call it nausea). It has also restored my faith that there are, at least a few, intelligent, entertaining and sweet "rom-coms".

4/5

Jane Eyre

Ahhhh my heart has been sad with the lack of film watching (especially at the cinema), but what with cinema tickets in Lincoln cost over 9 pounds (I KNOW), that mixed with the fact that I was getting married and moving house, well, it just wasn't happening.

   However, today i offically broke the cinema fast, by watching the classic remake Jane Eyre, starring the very lovely Michael Fassebender and the actually very talented Mia Wasikowska. The mood is set perfectly, the settings and countryside; beautiful, and the actors are all very well suited (even, the sometimes questionable Jamie Bell). I was a little dubious at first about Jane and Rochester's relationship, what with her looking barely 18, and he all rugged and old (er), however, they both managed to do it really well. Wasikowska was actually perfect as Jane, looking especially plain but not acting it at all. I also have to commend her english accent with aspects of quite a decent northern one. For an aussie that can't be easy, but it is actually very good.

   Fassbender seemed to warm into his role a bit more, suiting the flirty lingering moods, rather than the harsh abrupt ones. It was in these moments that the films stars truly tingled. I did feel like there wasn't enough of these moments, before leading to a quite anti-climactic finish. I feel (and this means a lot coming from me) that the reunion could have been more gushing, and die hard romantic, but, oh well.

Overall, this film is both stunning and disturbing at the same time (another pg film that i jumped at), the acting(especially Wasikowska) is very good, and it's about time we had another classic remake on the big screen. All I would ask for, is a bit more of Rochester, and his relationship with Jane, most especially at the end. Maybe next time eh?
3 and a half / 5

Super 8

Yes, it has been a while. No I didn't blog on Harry Potter (of course I saw it - and yes i actually liked it), but my love of film and film watching at any time of the day has seemed to be drained away, all motivation and concentration gone. I think this probably has something to do with hideous job hunting, and trying to organise a wedding.
   However, Super 8 - a seemingly simple plotted alien movie - has changed all this for me (at least for now).



  Super 8 (directed by J.J Abrams with help from the mighty Spielberg) is on the surface a movie about an alien visitor (of sorts). It focuses on a group of young teenagers one summer, who are making their own zombie movie for a competition. One night they are filming their production by a train track, when a train is suddenly ran off the track and a massive disaster follows. After this catastrophic event, things start to get extremely weird in the town, dogs go missing, microwaves go missing, and people start to disappear. Soon the kids realised that they may have filmed more in their movie than what they bargained for.

   As expected, the special effects in this movie are big and impressive. The acting and actors are perfectly chosen, and Abrams has got it right with the amount of "creature" that you see, and what it looks like when you do see it. What is unexpected, is an extremely sweet movie about a group of friends who are ever so likeable, and not only have to cope with the mysterious goings on from the train crash, but also their own tragedies that have occured in their lives.

   The charm of the film, is added to by the fact that the children are all played by relative unknowns. Even though Elle Fanning (Dakota's sister, playing the part of Alice) has done movies before, and has very much been brought up in show business, it doesn't matter, because she is emotional,  beautiful and generally quite a superb young actress. The relationship between her and Joe Lamb (the main protagonist, whose mother has just died and is trying to live with this fact, played very well by Joel Courtney) is lovely. Abrams has got the mood and the atmosphere just right, showing emotion and depth, without making their relationship tacky and trivial.

Not only are the children brilliant, but the whole film is quite something. However, although this film is based on kids, and is made for kids / teens, it isn't light. Abrams doesn't lay off the suspense or the occassional bloody moment, and the way in which this is incorporated into real  life, and real people, is quite amazing.

My only criticism, would be that towards the end of the film, it seemed to get a tiny bit trigger happy - explosions happening here there and everywhere - when quite frankly the characters create enough tension and excitement all by themselves.

   This 70's based film, is reminiscent of some of the classics made in the 80's. It has the charm of the goonies, the friendship of stand by me, and the hint of the unexplained of E.T, but what's new and exciting, is the success of mixing all this together and creating an intelligent, heartfelt yet exciting summer blockbuster.  5/5





My week of indie movies

   

   Okay. Firstly I need to apologise for the pictures that are dotted randomly across this

page. I am technologically inept, and the computer's not too great either. But anyway. I've had a very uneventful last week or so, job hunting, and wedding finishing off (nightmare) but I have managed

to fit in some films that have come out on dvd that i wanted to see, but were a little less mainstream than the

ones on at vue in Newcastle Under Lyme...

Like the Pictures, my writing is all over the place too, yay. The first two movies I watched

(one after the other) were 127 hours directed by Danny Boyle and tarring James Franco, and Monsters, a low key independent movie directed by Brit Gareth Edwards, and made on a shoe string budget.127 hours is the most mainstream of all the movies I've been watching, but this isn't a bad thing. The film follows the true story, of adrenaline junkie Aron Ralston, while he's mountain climbing in Utah. I don't really think I'm spoiling the plot when I say that Aron falls down a steep edge and has his arm pinned beneath a huge rock, resulting in him being stuck there for days with no food, very little water and only absurd hallucinations to keep him entertained. Now, with the exception of Open Water, I quite like "survival" films, where the camera and the film is focused on one person (occassionally more) and their battle to survive (like the superb "Buried"). This film did not let me down. Boyle's direction, and artistic way of shooting and merging the real life with Aron's vivid hallucinations, is both crazy and frightening, and not once does the viewer become bored by Aron's fight for survival. Equally, Franco is brilliant, as the man who is so desperate to live, that he drinks his own urine. Even the part where Franco has to cut off a certain limb *ahem*, is done in a realistic and respectable way, regardless of the fact that I wanted to weep and scream at the same time. This film, is a great example of how to shoot a movie about a real life battle, and how to do it well. 4 and a half out of 5.

   I think whatever film was watched after 127 hours was always going to be a little disapointing, I'd be very surprised if any film could compete with the amount of tension that Boyle and Franco managed to create. Sci fi and alien based films are not usually me genre, but Monsters got very good reviews, and I was extremely curious to see how a film on such a low budget, with no known actors (in fact a lot of the extras were actually just people who lived in the area) and low cost props could create such high critical acclaim. It's not a bad movie. The two main characters Samantha (Whitney Able) and Andrew (Scoot McNairy) are likable enough, and do a good job with what they are given. The fact is, they're not given much. The plot goes something along the lines of Samantha is Andrews boss's daughter, they are both in the "infected" area of mexico, and Andrew needs to escort Samantha safely to the uninfected America. The actors are good, the extras, to say that some of them really were just asked on the day to read some lines, were actually quite brilliant, and the area is lush and exotic. However, the "monsters" are pretty rubbish. It is too slow for the most part, and the title of the film is let down by the lack of such. But, it does look good, and Edwards has proven that decent movies can be made without the hollywood injection of millions of pounds.

3 / 5.

My last two movies, are very different in pretty much every way. First there was Blue Valentine, Starring Michelle Willams as Cindy, and Ryan Gosling as Dean, Cindy's Husband. Do not watch this film if you are expecting another "Notebook", because you're not going to get it. Rather, what we do have, is a stark and bitter look at a marriage that's falling apart, and the horrible situation that occurs when one half of a marriage is loveless. It's not that I have an interest in unhappy marriages, but I do have an interest in good acting, beautiful cinematography and sitautions that are actually more real than the idealistic and sickly sweet chick flicks that inundate our cinema. I was expecting a film similar to Sam Mendes' "Revolutionary Road", although a lot of people disagreed, I thought that film was beautiful, devastating and very well acted, but what I got wasn't quite up to scratch.

Whilst Gosling and Williams are good, their characters are really not very likeable, especially the seemingly apathetic Cindy. This makes it harder to care when their marriage falls apart. However, it is watchable and the soundtrack by Grizzly Bear is very good. 3 /5.

And this (to your relief) brings me to the last film: Rabbit Hole. Again, not a light and happy context, based around married couple Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) who are trying to deal with grief after having lost their young son in a road accident. Again, not a lot happens here, as you can probably imagine, yet the acting is beautiful, and the message of it is just right. Not that I have any experience with such awful circumstances, but it does not feel falsely morbid or hopeful. I think director John Cameron Mitchell, tried really very hard to set a realistic atmosphere and create a film that looked truthfully at how a couple could possibly deal with such devastating circumstances.

You can't really call a film like this entertaining, but it is moving, and it is watchable. 3 and a half out of 5.



Bridesmaids

   This isn't a blog about the merits of bridesmaids (though i'm sure i could probably blog about that soon), but about the highly entertaining new film, deemed as "the hangover for women".

The story is set around two childhood best friends Annie (Kristen Wiig) and Lillian (Maya Rudolph). Lillian announces that she is getting married an appoints Annie as the Maid of honour. Chaos (and much laughter ensues) as Annie organises quite catastrophic events, whilst trying to compete against fellow bridesmaid Helen (a very versatile Rose Byrne). Meanwhile, Annie's love life is a mess, her job is dire, she has no money, and her life in general is falling apart around her. The film follows Annie as she tries to be a "good" maid of honour, whilst dealing with the messy situations in her life.

This film could have gone one of two ways. It could have actually been the female version of the Hangover: extremely crude, rude, vulgar - funny yes, - but with no substance, or, it could be too whimsical and chick flick - esque, replacing the laughs with bad unrealistic sentiment. However, Bridesmaids somehow manages to create a brilliant mixture of the two. There are some genuinley gross out moments (normally involving larger than life bridesmaid Megan - Melissa McCarthy), including a scene where the girls have food posioning in a bridal shop, and cannot control their bodily functions... However, what makes this such a good film, are the laughs that you get alongside the reality of living in a recession, the laugh out loud moments that come from a really rubbish sexual relationship, and the sentimentality of friendship, and the importance it plays in this film.

All the characters are well cast and played out, but Kristen Wiig, is as always brilliant. She just seems to have a natural funniness that comes across on screen brilliantly. Chris O Dowd was also extremely enjoyable and sweet to watch, as the goofy but good guy Nathan Rhodes.

My only criticism, is that this film could have focused more on the bridesmaids and their outings, mainly because of the name of the film which implies that the focus was going to be on the group, rather than just Annie. But that really is only a tiny niggle, compared to this feel good, funny and sweet movie, that i imagine could also appeal to guys (even if they wouldn't admit it).

4/5

Goodbye Keele

   I rarely write blogs about my life, because i fear i will drone on and bore everyone, or sound like a whimsical idiot (not that i don't do that sometimes anyway). However the end of three years at university is going to have to be an exception to this rule.

Anyone who knows me, maybe even a little bit, will know that univeristy isn't really for me, and that I haven't had the greatest time here. Actually it's probably been the hardest and sometimes hideous three years of my life. I'm not going to lie to you, but Stoke on Trent really isn't for me (although i do now refer to people as sugar).

I don't want to go all mushy, but there are so many people who have helped me survive. And I genuinley mean survive. It may sound melodramatic, but maybe i am melodramatic, that's just how it is.

University may have been bad, the work may have been hideous, and the environment (not to mention the rain) may have not helped, but to the people who stuck by me regardless, who helped when they didn't have to and loved me despite everything else, well you got me through and I thank God for you.

Don't abandon other people, even when they push you away, even when work seems more important, even when you have issue going on in your own lives. Stick by them, and thank God that you have people to stick by in the first place.

X Men - First Class

X Men First Class, is the stylish origin story set in the 60's, of how the mutants came to be, and explains more fully the relationships of the characters that we see in the later ("original") X Men Films.

The film is set in the 60's and follows Erik's (a superb Michael Fassbender) hunt for his mother's murderer and his sadistic mentor Shaw, (Kevin Bacon). Meanwhile Charles Xavier, (James Mcavoy) a proffessor of genetics and mutant mind reader is approached by a member of the CIA (Rose Byrne) to help them find Shaw and his mutant friends, to stop him from starting world war 3. In this plot to save the world, new young mutants are found and trained to hone their powers and use them for good.

It was a big risk making this film. X men one and two were entertaining enough, but the third was a huge flop and wolverine origins (as much as I am a fan of Jackman) was a disapointment. However, what we have in First Class is a very stylish, clever and well acted film. My favourite thing about it is its two leads, Charles and Erik (Proffessor X and Magneto). Mcavoy is in my opinion (to some peoples disagreement) a very good  Xavier, creating a cheeky and youthful character, but still managing to work the fatherly care and affection that he develops for his younger mutants. Fassbender blew me away as the character of Erik (despite a bit of dodgy accents). He just brought so much charisma and charm to such a confused and vengeful character. Together, Mcavoy and Fassbender create a very sweet realtionship that does add to the context of the first X men films. Jennifer Lawrence is also very good as Mystique, giving us an intriguing backstory to the blue beauty.

So was this a five star film? Not quite. Whilst this film did very well in it's leads, and in general the story of discovering new mutants, it lacked oomph with its "baddies". Kevin Bacon was fine as Shaw, and in fact had a promising start at the beginning when he kills Eriks mother. However, he gets a little dull after that, losing personality and becoming nothing more than his powers. I also felt that Shaw's companion Emma Frost (January Jones) was just a bit of a waste of time. She didn't add anything to the film, and it also seemed like she was developing added powers left right and centre.

So by all means, not a perfect film, but really quite entertaining. It sort of makes me sad that there are already films when they are older, not giving them much space to go into further films and plotlines. But i would not be suprised if they gave it a go anyway.

Stylish, entertaining and clever. 4/5

Hanna

Hanna is a quirky, timeless and very watchable movie.

The film is based around the character Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) - a teen assasin who has lived in a snowy forest all of her life, only knowing what her father has taught her, including how to kill. It turns out that Hanna was a specially enhanced foetus who is now wanted by the CIA especially by Marissa (Cate Blanchett). Hanna sets out to kill Marissa, and along the way learns who she is and what it meansto actually be human.

Hanna has a weird eerie and contradictory feel about it. It is timeless and placeless, yet so many different places and environments are used. One moment you feel like you are in the technological future, the next you feel like your camping with a very english and annoying family in the 60's.This could be disorientating and disjointed, but actually it works very well.

A lot of people were quite surprised when Joe Wright (director of Atonement and Pride and Prejudice) was set to direct this film. But actually, he pulls it off beautifully, using cinematic techniques that were used to emphasise the beauty of his period dramas. My favourite thing about Hanna are the visuals and the soundtrack. There are some truly brilliant and gritty fight scenes, and also a lot of the chasing and running (as dull as they can sometimes be) were actually exemplified by brilliant camera work, and the Chemical Brothers's exciting and edgy soundtrack.

All the actors pulled their weight, delivering what was needed to make a good film. Eric Banner (Hanna's father - Erik) just about pulled off the role without being too annoying, but did lack a bit of emotion, as did Blanchett in her enemy role (which she apparently is getting quite used to).
Of course the star of the show is Ronan, being quite  brilliant and realistic as the violent but innocent and naive teen. A shout out also has to go to Tom Hollander and his character of Isaacs. He looks so camp, but is vicious and very well cast in his sadistic and menacing role.

The acting is good, the storyline is interestingt, but what makes this film, is Joe Wright's very good directing, and the often stunning visuals that are placed alongside a stellar soundtrack
4/5

Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants is a beautifully set 1930's drama based around a lush American circus.

   We are presented with Jacob (Robert Pattinson), a bright young man who is about to sit his last vetenary exam, when suddenly his parents die in a car crash and he loses everything and is left with nothing. On venturing out into the big wide world, he hitches a ride on a train which turns out to be a travelling circus. At first he finds menial work there, but when his vetenary skills are found out, he becomes more deeply involved, not only with the most beautiful and talented elephant (Rosie) but also with August (a superb Christoph Waltz) the charismatic but terrifying ring master, and even more so with his wife Marlena (Reese Witherspoon).

The reviews for this film have been average; not bad, but not overwhelmingingly good either. I think this is because although this film is a nice story, the set and themes could provide so much more. This could have been a film that deeply impacts you like Titanic does, or even The Notebook. But it doesn't. But you know what, I like nice stories. The circus setting with all the animals really is beautiful, it is shot extremely well, and is a pleasure to watch.

   And Christoph Waltz. Well, I just have to look at him and i shiver in terror. He will never be cast as anything other than the bad guy, some may say this is a bad thing, but why change something that's not broken? He's simply  brilliant as the dominating ring master, and i even felt a tiny bit sorry for him at times. Next we have Robert. Ahh. I actually think, as bad as you may say twilight is, he isn't a bad actor at all, and in this film he shows it. He maybe gets off to a slow start, but after a while he really seems to blend in with the scenery and the action, not in a way that you don't notice him, but in a way that works. My only vice with this movie, is the part of Malena. Although i think Witherspoon is very good, and does play the part well, i don't think she works well with Pattinson. It's not awful, I just think that she should be mothering him rather than having sex with him...

   It has been said in other reviews, but this film would lack a lot of charm if it wasn't for Rosie the elephant. She is simply stunning.

Lush, sweet, classy, just lacking chemistry between the two leads, however, Rosie the elephant makes this film more than watchable.
3 and a half / 5

Goodbye Sociology, Hello Thor, and absolute intrigue with Catfish

 

Yere, this blog has pictures and everything!

So yesterday i did my first exam and finished sociology forever, phew, and then we headed (unsuprisingly) straight to the cinema, to get a bit of cheap tuesday action with a rather beautiful looking Chris Hemsworth as the title character of Thor. Thor follows the comic bookstory (and countless myths and legends) about the different worlds in our universe and the God like beings who live in Adwar. Thor (Hemsworth) is the son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and Frigga (a forgotten Rene Russo), brother to Loki (relatively unknown but quite good Tom Hiddleston) and is the next heir to the throne. Thor is due to become King shortly, before messing up an alliance between the Asgards and their life long enemies (some sort of frost people - their name escapes me). As punishment, Odin sends Thor to earth, removing his powers and hurting his pride in order to teach him a lesson and the skills that he needs to become a good leader. Add in a mix of Natalie Portman as the love interest, Stellan Skarsgarrd as an intriguing and intellectual scientist, a family disloyalty and a few fight scenes, and boom. We have ourselves a pretty good movie.

Kenneth Brannagh does not strike me as the type of person who would even want to direct this sort of hollywood monster (seeing him more in a shakesperian light), but actually he does a pretty good job. The film is good to look at and he packs a lot of information and plot into a two hour movie, and for me, it just about works. I also think he (or more likely the person he hired) did a pretty good job of the casting. Hemsworth is pretty perfect as the leading role, making me fully believe anything he would say or do, Hopkins is good in a role that's not so heavy as his usual stuff but still quite effective, and equally, Portman on her crazy run of films, was delightful to see in this light and quite sweet character. So, what's wrong with it? Well, there were moments that were really good (particularly when Hemsworth was on screen) that were really really good, but they were fletting, leaving the rest as merely fine. I also felt like the transition between earth, and the mystical worlds were a bit jilted, and not as smooth as they should have been.

Overall, i really quite enjoyed it, and thought it was a good set up for the avengers movie (Hemsworth and Downey Jr. in a film together... YAY). 3 and a half / 5

I apologise for this hefty post, but i have to blog about Catfish. I read about it last year when it came out at a similar time to The Social Network (with a similar idea - facebook) but didn't think much about it, until an advert appeared on more 4 (i know). So intrigue made me watch it. It's basically a film/documentary about a guy (an actually good looking, intelligent film/photographer in New York) who is having various relationships with a family on facebook. The guy - Nev, is being filmed by his brother and friend, as his relationship with these people develop. It starts off with him getting "poked" by an eight year old - weird i know - but then acquires paintings from her which are actually very good. He becomes friends with the whole family on facebook - mother, father, sister, brother - and even talks to them on the phone. He develops a "sexual" relationship (online and on the phone) with the sister, and becomes very involved with the whole situation. What unfolds is really not what it seems.

Disclaimer - spoiler alert - i am going to say what happens in the end

After getting a bit suspicious about some of the things Nev is being told by Melody and Abby (Older sister and young painter girl) he decides to go up to see them (across the other side of the country). What he finds there is a bunch of lies. No Melody, an Abby - but not an artist, and Angela (the mother) is the conspirator of it all. She is a woman who wants attention and love, who paints the pictures she has been sending Nev and who has made every intricate lie (and phone conversation) up.

I felt a mixture of emotions whilst watching this movie. Firstly you kind of think Nevs a bit of an idiot for believeing it all, but then why should he doubt it? it was all so intricately planned and thought of that it sort of seemed impossible for it all to be lies. Then you want to feel angry at Angela, but you just can't. She looked so sad, and her life seemed so disapointing to her, that i sort of just wanted to cry for her. The film is shot in a documentary style, but it's not crummy or unprofessional, it's intriguing and extremely watchable. There have been criticisms as to whether this film was truly real, whether it was filmed in the order we see it, and whether actually it is ethical. I think these things are valid points, but if thought upon too much then they do ruin the impact of the film, and i think that's unnecessary.

Not only does this film give such a raw and emotional look into a few people's lives, but it also shows how dangerous and complicated social networking can be and become. You should give this film ago.
4/5

The Kids Are All Right

   This is a highly critical acclaimed film about a modern family that consists of a lesbian couple Nic (a superb Annette Benning) and Jules (Julianne Moore) who have both had a child each by the same sperm donor. At the age of 18, their daughter Joni, (Mia Wasikowska) encouraged by her younger brother Laser (Josh Hutcherson) contact their sperm donor father, Paul (Mark Ruffalo) and start up an awkward yet sweet realtionship with him. Jules and Nic aren't sure about the realtionship, and Nic is very disaproving, but Jules starts up an unorthodox and sexual relationship with Paul, which eventually causes problems and rifts for them all.

I really like films that are more like character studies, focusing on the people and their relationships, and potentially a family which could exist in real life. This film is not afraid to leave the hollywood ideal, and to leap head first into quite unchartered areas. Ruffalo and Benning shine in their indie and complicated roles, but Moore disapoints a little bit, not bringing much likability to a character that should be quite likeable. Waikowska and Ruffalo are fine as the kids, but are underused in a film that should maybe focus more on them. For me, there is also unnecessary drug use and references that don't go anywhere, and sex scenes which are more cringeworthy than appropriately passionate.

Overall, this film is an attractive character based look at a modern and contemporary family. It feels real, and is to the merit of Lisa Cholodenko (director) that it doesn't feel too Hollywood. My main criticisms are with the lack of use of the teens, and the lack of empathy that Moore should make people feel.

3 and a half out of 5

Your Highness

Erm...Yere not brilliant.

The adverts didn't look bad, there is some high potential acting power behind it (James Franco, Natalie Portman) and i did love the cheesy medieval adventure flicks as a child (Princess Bride, Willow), but it lacks the charm of these films and instead replaces likeability with swear words, sexual innuendos and finishing it off with a hefty dollop of general crudeness.

  The story follows two princes, the charming and valiant Fabias (Franco), and the not so lovable brother Thadeous (Danny McBride). Fabias claims the virgin Belladonna as his wife (Zooey Deschanel), but on their wedding day the evil warlock Leezar (Justin Theroux) steals Belladonna, with the hope of impregnating her on the day when the moons collide in order to have a dragon child... Thadeous is sent on a quest with his brother Fabias in order to rescue Belladonna, and prove to the kingdom that he is not such a waster after all. Along their journey they meet the beautiful and feisty Isabel (Natalie Portman) who eventually helps them on their quest.

Apart from the unnessecary crudeness, nakedness and countless penis references, there are some very surreal and odd moments. Such as a fight with a five headed dragon and some quite gory killings, which just don't seem to blend with the type of humour that has been battered around thus far. In my opinion there are two saving graces which makes this film watchable, rather than atrocious. The first is Franco. The part isn't brilliant and there's not a lot to play with, yet he manages to make it playful and cheeky, rather than annoying and loathsome which a lesser actor could have done. And the second is Theroux playing Leezar. Again, it's a pretty rubbish character / baddie, but he manages to act it with a sarcasm and subtle wit that is quite funny.

There are some films that are crude and rude, yet still seem to be funny. 40 Year Old Virgin is one of these. The difference is that these films, amongst the sex jokes, still have a heart and charm. Unfortunately, Your Highness lacks both of these. I think Danny McBride should leave the writing to someone else (maybe Judd Apatow?) and work on the acting skills. Sorry love...
2/5

Source Code

It has been a long, bleak, cinema lacking time, however last week i managed to hijack a friend and make them come see Source Code with me, so i can finally blog again :D - Definite Spoiler Alert.

I'd heard good things about this conceptually complicated film, and to say that it is an action flick with Jake Gyllenhaal in it and along similar lines to a pretty bad De Ja Vu, this is high praise indeed. The story starts with a man (an always lovely Jake Gyllenhaal) waking up on a train and not knowing where or who he is. Confusion follows, until 8minutes later, the train blows up and jake finds himself alone in a dark capsual. The story follows the idea of the "Source Code", a scientific revolutionary idea, that a certain part of a dead persons mind can be tapped into, in order to send them into a certain situation for 8minutes to obtain information. Jake is being sent to this train (in the form of another guy - confusing yes) in order to find out who set the bomb in order to prevent future bombings that are suspected to happen in the present. The idea is that jake is sent not into the actual past, but a paradigm, the scientists (a quite scary Jeffrey Wright, and Vera Farmiga) stress that the past cannot be changed.

Heres where it gets more confusing. Jake finds out who is behind the bombing and informs Farmiga, and asks if he can go back one last time (determined that he can change the past) and then be switched off the life support (which his actual dead, half a body is on). Farmiga agrees without Wright knowing, and Jake goes back into his 8minutes of bomb hunting before he is turned off on the life support. The whole premise so far has been pretty bleak. Scientists have developed technology that uses (arguably abuses) a practically dead bodies last bit of brain activity, and sends them on"missions" in order to get the information they need. The past cannot change, the missions are not real, it is not time travel.

So, how on earth, do we finish this film, with the life support monitor being turned off, and Jake having succeeded in not only changing the past - stopping the bomb, capturing the guy, getting the girl - but also in staying in the past (in some other guys body). For me, Duncan Jones (also the director of the highly critically acclaimed "Moon") copped out at the end of this movie, deciding that an unhappy ending, a film of fate, would not satisfy mass audiences, and therefore decided to soften up the ending by going against everything the film has been saying so far.

This film poses somereally good philosophical questions about the development of science and the worth of one human life against the massess. There are some top acting skills in it with an on form Gyllenhaal who manages to get the tone just right, and a refreshingly good Farmiga, as always showing versatility. However, a cop-out ending that goes against the whole idea of the source code, is a bitter disapointment.

Would have been 4 and a half out of 5, dropped to a 3 because of the end. Tut.

The Adjustment Bureau

Hmmm.

That basically sums up the whole film.

The plot is a guy - David Morris (an on form Matt Damon)- who is running for senate/congress, when one day he meets a young woman - Elise (a lovely Emily Blunt) who changes his views of himself and the world. The idea next, is that some middle aged men in trilby hats walk in and try to change a situation (supernaturally?!) in order that the "plan" is kept on track. The "plan" means that David and Elise should not be allowed to be together, and the film carries on with David chasing after Elise and the "adjusters" chasing after him. Ambiguous, i know. Stay with me.

The thing that this film has going for it, is it's two main characters, David and Elise. There is something very sweet and uncomplicated by their fragmented relationship. In some ways it is very idealistic, in the sort of chick flick sense, yet at the same time there is a charming realism to them and their relationship is funny and honest. The girl part of me also falls for the "fated" to be together side of the story, and it's quite nice to see Matt Damon chase after the girl.

However the rest of the plot, storyline and characters, are, well, a shambles. It turns out that the adjustment bureau (thats what the middle aged men are part of) are the "chairman's" (a hideously trivial metaphor for God) cronies. As a christian, there are some very dodgy lines and ideas in this movie about God and his plan for us. For instance, one minute God, or as some may like to call him, the "chairman", has a plan for us that must not change. Yet there is also chance that sometimes just happens. Sometimes we have free will, sometimes we don't. Sometimes the cronies step in, sometimes they don't. In the end the "Chairman" changes his mind about a certain plan and changes it dues to someones free will. It is concluded that we all have free will, sometimes we just need enough power to use it. Hmmmm.

 You may not be a christian. You may well be thinking, i can work with this concept, fate, god, matt damon yadydayda. Well let me tell you a few things. The cronies can lose their power of whatever it is they have in the first place by either, losing their trilbys or being near water. No word of a lie.

Matt Damon and Emily Blunt are perfect for each other. They are vibrant, charming and charismatic, and ideally should have had a film to themselves. However, they are crowded by an over complicated dodgy philosophical concept that at times is made ridiculous.
2 and a half / 5.

Gnomeo and Juliet

It has taken me a while to get this one written, but here it goes.

This is a funny and bright remake of Romeo and Juliet, enacted with garden gnomes. For some true thespians and shakespeare worshippers this probably sounds repulsive, but, for those with a bit of a sense of humour, a love of cheesy kids films, and at least a tolerance of Elton John then this films is light and indulgent entertaining.

The story, is two gardens, two sets of families, boy gnome meets girl gnome from opposite family, forbidden romance ensues. Throw in a quite sweet pink flamingo, some top class voices (including James Mcavoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Jason Statham and Patrick Stewart) and topped with a heavy dollop of Elton John (music, campness, the LOT) and you have this film.

Gnomeo and Juliet tries to be a film like so many other masterpieces (how to train your dragon, toy story's, up) that can be accessible and enjoyable to all ages. However, it just ever so slightly misses the mark. There are some quite adult jokes and themes that the children could not even start to begin to understand (evidence in the fact of having a seven year old on my knee going what's that? and what are they doing?). Then to make up for it, the film adds some awful random dance scenes in, that actually, no age would find funny.

Unlike the other films mentioned, it also lacks a certain charm. It's entertaining, but it doesnt stick with you. It doesn't give you a warm tingly feeling afterwards. It does however, make you sing the best of Elton John for the next week.
Not bad, quite entertaining: 3/5

True Grit

I am going to have to watch a rubbish film sometime soon, just so i can change the tune. Alas, it is not going to be yet. Once again, a really good film and a good oscar contender.

The storyline is about a girl, Mattie (Hailee Steinfield) who goes on a wild goose chase with unothordox Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and annoying Texan ranger La Boeuf (Matt Damon) in order to revenge her murdered father. Again, western is a little bit out of my comfort zone, as is boxing, but i felt it a little bit more with this film.

There is no doubt in my mind that Jeff Bridges is a bit of a legend, that Damon was surprisingly good when he is normally quite one dimensional and annoying, and that the 14 year old Steinfield was simply stunning in her breakout on to the big screen. The cinematography was beautiful, capturing the scenery and creating the necessary atmosphere. But for me, I got a little bit lost in some of the dialogue and slower moments, especially in Bridges' strong gruff accent, not fully understanding, and not fully wanting to.

Brilliant acting, beautifully shot, a mans film. A little bit out of my depth, and a little more understated than some of its contenders, but never the less, a very good film.
4/5

Never Let Me Go

 My heart is so sad.

I did not know what to expect. I hadn't heard much about it apart from very mixed reviews. I knew it was about a group of three people who had been raised together in a school for children, that there was some unrequited love and that it had a "sci-fi" or futuristic element to it. I did not expect it to be heart wrenchingly sad.

I'm not going to say much about the storyline, because i dont want to spoil it, but the opening half hour is quite slow and jolted, based in their childhood. It is beautifully shot, and the child actors have a presence on screen that i strong and nice to see. However, it is when we get to the adult lives of the characters that this film really starts to take off. Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley are all brilliant, showing such emotioanl depth that i literally wanted to cry for them.

I expected this film to be similar to Atonement, in the respects that it's extremely beautiful to look at, it has Keira Knightley in it (actually acting well), and it's the sort of film that a lot of people don't appreciate. This is all true, but nobody can criticise the tremendous amount of acting and emotionality of the film, it is, simply beautiful.

Some people won't like it. It isn't uplifting. It paints a world that is awful, a world thats not worth thinking about. But maybe it is worth thinking about, maybe the author who wrote the book is trying to say something. If nothing else, enjoy the beautiful scenery, the sometimes harrowing emotionality, and the utterly beautiful acting by three very talented brits.

4/5

Iron man 2, revisited

So, of course i saw this film at the cinema, but last night i watched it for the first time on dvd, so i thought i would review it, more so that i could just talk about Robert Downey Junior than anything else.

It is, overall, a highly entertaining film, and a good follow up, considering that it had huge potential to be awful. The rough story line starts with tony stark who is "out of the bag" as Iron man after self proclaiming his hero-ness, and is enjoying the life of being known and loved. Meanwhile an angry russian guy (an underplayed Mickey Rourke) plots to kill stark, and the film centres around his co-operation with Justin Hammer, (Sam Rockwell) to find a way to "out-do" Iron Man.

The plot has holes, the special effects are so-so, and re-casting Rudey with Don Cheadle was a mistake. However, Robert D.J sparkles in every scene he his in (which is luckily quite a few) and once again makes the Iron Man franchise shine. He is just pure brilliance as the eccentric, narcissistic, but thoroughly charming Tony Stark. Mickey Rourke is also pretty good as the Russian scientist (with a name that i'm not even going to try and write), but is underused, and the screen time he does have is mainly comprised of him sat there saying things in Russian. Sam Rockwell is also grossly under used. He is a brilliant and vibrant actor, in a really quite rubbish role. Neither the character or the actor do justice to each other. Scarlett Johanson is also wrongly cast, bringing no personality to a dull character, and Jon Favreau obviously thinks that directing is not enough by giving himself a cringeworthy "fight" scene.

I would like this film, if the only character was Tony Stark. In fact, I may like it a bit more if it was just the Tony Stark show, but that's irrelevant. My point is, is that Robert D.J makes this film, and that by me, is more than fine.
Enjoyment factor - 4/5  The film as a whole - 3/5

The Fighter

I am not interested in sport, i'm not interested in films about sport (even if they are inspirational like the new sort of genre that seems to have taken a place in film makers hearts) and i'm most definitley not interested in boxing. However, I am interested in supposedly brilliant films, and i'm also interested in the oscar runners, and it is in these categories that The Fighter fits.

The storyline follows two brothers. One, (Dickie, played by a brilliant Christian Bale) a former boxer and a crack addict who is training his younger brother Mickey (Mark Wahlberg) to become a renowned boxer that he never was. I expected the sort of film that centers on something like the boxing, but is actually a story and a film of relationships, and to an extent it is. A slow start but Christian Bale is brilliant as the eccentric Dickie, and Mark Wahlberg plays his best role in a while, fighting convincingly and playing the younger quieter character extremely well. But I have to say, it is  in the moments where Mickey is in the ring fighting that are the most entertaining and joyfully real. Wahlberg truly built himself up to the stance of a boxer and is brilliant in the ring.

Definitley worth a watch, Bale most definitley stands a chance of getting best supporting actor, however,as a film, not as good as the Kings Speech. In its own right, a very good film.

4/5

Tangled

It makes my heart happy that Disney have gone back to the start, not only bringing in a classic princess (Rapunzel) but also bringing back the cheesy songs. Joy.

It got off to a slowish start. Girl (Rapunzel) with long long blonde magical healing hair, is kept for 18 years in a tower by her supposed mother. Guy, Eugene (lol) a rugged and loveable thief, happens to cross paths with Rapunzel and promises to take her on an adventure.

There was a slight chance that this film could go badly. The music could have been awful, and it is hard to get the charm of previous films like Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. The Princcess and the Frog for instance, was a great idea, but lacked charm.Tangled however hits the mark. It's beautiful to look at, the songs are fun and soulful - Alan Menken is on top form - and the characters are the ones that you remember; cheeky, pretty and full of life.
4/5

Black Swan - There are no words

Oh, my goodness.
There really isnt a word to fully describe this film. It's ridiculous and sublime,dark and beautiful, metaphorical, yet very real. I can't criticise it, because anything that could be criticised could also be rendered as manic genius. It's so mentally tiring, yet seamlessly entertaining. In terms of storyline, well theres a girl whose a ballerina who finally gets a main part as the queen swan in swan lake. She is perfect for the part as the timid virginal white swan but not so much for the evil black one. Chaos ensues in the form of self harm, murder, female masturbation, lesbian action, mental insanity and death.
I think i really liked it, its kind of hard to tell. But i do know that its beautiful, creepy and entertaining, and that Natalie Portman gives an absolutely amazing performance.
Wow.
4/5

The Kings Speech

This is the new, and highly crictically acclaimed film and true story about king george the 6th (Colin Firth) and his stutter that terrified him and disabled him from making the speeches that a king ought. His wife (Helena Bonham Carter) finds a kooky and unconventional speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) who eventually develops a relationship with the King, and helps him overcome his impediment.

   It is needless to say that this a beautiful and flawless film that is entertaining to watch and yet pulls on your heart strings. All the cast are superb. It is refreshing to see Helena Bonham Carter in a role, which doesnt cover her in gothic make up and back comb her hair. She is wonderful as Colin Firths counter part and proves that she doesn't just act quirky, but does in fact act extremely well. Geoffrey Rush also acts Lionel Logue very well, but it is Colin Firth, who I just wanted to hug for contributing such an amazing performance and making the film what it is. Colin Firth in real life is known for being quite shy and reserved, so coming on to screen and acting a stammer that has to get better, screaming, shouting, crying, and breaking out into fits of swearing would not be the easiest of jobs, but he does it with absolutely no difficulty, only with flourish and zest.

It looks beautiful, the acting was incredible, and it gives the audience an insight into the guilty nosy pleasure that is the royal family. Amazing. 5/5.

marriage, festivities and swedish horror films...

Wow. This has been a crazy few weeks.
So firstly i went and got engaged (not on my own, just to clarify) which is extremely exciting if not also terrifying and making me excruciatingly panicky. I mean don't get me wrong, i totally want to get married, and not just married, married to Andy who i couldn't spend my life without (bit of sentimentality for you there), but I in no way want to plan a wedding for 9 months time (yes we're getting married in september) whilst also doing a crazy stupid amount of work - or not doing, as the case is at the moment.
 Sigh.
I know what you're saying, don't get married in september then. what i would rather say is, lets not do the work then. That's how much i want to get married this year and start a new life, in a new place with the person that i love. And no, i'm not stupid, i know it is in no way easy, and some of you do think i have a screw loose for getting married young, or fast or any of the other reasons that people are throwing at me, but so what. If i know nothing else, i know that God willing, i can be a good wife and a good mother, and that's what i want to do.

So apart from that, and the normality that was christmas day, my parents and brother disapeared off to Florida, leaving me, my sister, my dog and my dvd player alone. So i did what any person would do, and bought seven new dvds. Yay. The first film that i watched was "Let the right one in" a swedish horror film about a vampire "girl" that befriends the loner boy next door. Now, I've been wanting to watch this for ages, but to be honest was a little bit scared to watch it on my own. So, armed with my sister, her boyfriend and my cushion we set out to watch the movie. I was pleasantly suprised. It wasn't as horrible as i thought it was going to be (although i'm not denying squeamish and gory parts). Moreover, there was a sweet poignancy in the relationship between Oscar and Eli (boy and vampire) that was intriguing and compelling and transcended anything else the movie wanted to throw at you. Granted, some of the conversation was clumsy between the two main characters, yet at the same time, this almost seemed fitting, and could probably be allowed.

   The next film i watched was "The disapearance of Alice Creed". This is a british gritty thriller about a girl who is kidnapped in order to get 2 million pounds off her rich father. Now, this film got really high critical acclaim. Not alot happens, yet it is still on the edge of your seat stuff, compelling and with quite alot of twists and turns that leave you quite suprised. However, this being said, it does feel a little over done at times. Some of the things that happened left me a bit like, err really? And I feel like this made it a little unrealistic and took away from the intensity of it. Overall, however, I did find it enjoyable, and i wasn't at any point bored.

   I could go on for longer, but i fear i've bored you enough. Watch this space for news on the kings speech, black swan and tangled amongst many more i'm sure. Along with a healthy rambling about wedding venue issues and how rubbish my work is going.
Happy New Year. May you have a good one.