Film 2011

[MattBackHome]

Yeah I agree US, War Horse does look to be an exciting prospect - more so than Tintin anyway.

Another one I'm looking forward to this year is Red State, starring John Goodman. Is Kevin Smith finally growing up?

 

[dannyboy]

For those who know about such things black swan , the fighter and true grit can already be watched .......... so they tell me

 

[Acker79]

January

It seems some people are not happy with the initial list of films, and I’m bored, so will put a bit more effort into my follow up, which sees the start of what I hope will be a monthly thing, unless I forget...

January

Season of the Witch Nic Cage. Pretty much says it all, could be cheesy great, or awful.

Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling’s realistic portrayal of the sexual activities of a couple through the course of their relationship caused a little consternation for the MPAA, and a lot of press for Harvey Weinstein and the film Blue Valentine.

Emma Roberts continues her ascent to the heights not seen in her family since Julia, with It’s a Funny Story. I think she’s probably outshone her father Eric already.

Hilary Swank and the great Sam Rockwell give us a court drama as she plays the sister who learns law to help get her brother out of trouble in Conviction.

Keanu Reeves returns to screens in another drama about an innocent man accused of crimes in Henry’s Crime.

Vince Vaughn has to face up to The Dilemma when he discovers his best friend Kevin James’s wife is cheating.

Harrison Ford is back in romcom land for Morning Glory where he, like any self respecting aged actor chases a young lady, in the form of Rachel McAdams.

Before he returns with Scream 4 Wes Craven serves up the teen horror My Soul to Take where a serial killer returns home to kill children who were born on the day he was supposedly killed.

Peter Mullan serves up his third feature Neds asking if a kid from Glasgow can transcend his lower class upbringing.

The story of Rapunzel comes in for the Disney treatment in their latest offering Tangled.

Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson and Paul Rudd give us this year’s ‘should have been better’ romcom How Do You Know.

Clint Eastwood continues his behind the camera career, re-teaming with Matt Damon for the supernatural Hereafter.

The Mechanic sees Jason Statham join up with the director of Con Air to play a hitman who takes on an apprentice.

Can Paul Giamatti pull in the crowds as the romantic lead? Barney’s Version will hope so.

Other big films this month: The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, The Green Hornet, and Black Swann.

 

[Meade's Ball]

Saw Blue Valentine at the festival. Good film. I was quite moved by it. Director came on at the end and spoke of how it took 7 years in total to make (well 7 years to rewrite the script and get the funding and find the right cast etc). You can see the hard work of it. Subtle and brutally realistic. A relationship's end and beginning told in equal measure, so jointly beautiful and crushing in one. Gosling is always good on screen when i've watched him.

 

[Meade's Ball]

And i apologise to no one to voice my disinterest in yet another Speilberg film. He is great with the look of things, his aesthetic always keenly composed and loudly expressed, but he is a man who can not for a second ever paint even the outline of a person. I watched War of the Worlds once again the other day and i was kind of on the side of the aliens the more Cruise spoke.
I'd love it if he embraced the possibility of failure and just made a film about people and the simply deep tension of life itself. Tested himself.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Follows a young man named Albert and his horse, Joey, and how their bond is broken when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert heads to France to save his friend.

Kids film? Doesnt sound that interesting to be honest.

Sounds potentially soppy.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

And i apologise to no one to voice my disinterest in yet another Speilberg film. He is great with the look of things, his aesthetic always keenly composed and loudly expressed, but he is a man who can not for a second ever paint even the outline of a person. I watched War of the Worlds once again the other day and i was kind of on the side of the aliens the more Cruise spoke.
I'd love it if he embraced the possibility of failure and just made a film about people and the simply deep tension of life itself. Tested himself.

Schindler's List ?. Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley ?.

It may be a kids film Tyrone , we will have to wait and see. Even if it is it will be superb.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Saw The Kings Speech at the Marina last night. I can't top what's already been written about this film so I'll just say 9/10. Surely an Oscar for Colin Firth, and possibly Geoffrey Rush, who always puts in a good shift.

The less said about a large proportion of the audience clapping at the end the better - the second time it's happened at a cinema I've been in in the last ten days. Are we turning into the 51st State of the USA or what?

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Convicted is a fascinating Ellen Brockivich-esque true story but from the trailers it just looks like it's been turned into an American schmaltz-fest and one to steer clear of. Also the trailer is so long you pretty much get to see the entire film, including many of the plot twists.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I think the whole point of Cruise in War of the Worlds was that he was meant to be a self obssessed, unlikeable bloke who was thrown in the deep end trying to protect his kids.

Kermode rates it highly so each to their own.

 

[Meade's Ball]

I think the whole point of Cruise in War of the Worlds was that he was meant to be a self obssessed, unlikeable bloke.

So Cruise was fundamentally playing himself?

 

[Acker79]

Ever since it was pointed out that Spielberg frequently makes films about father hood/daddy issues, I have been less enthralled by his films. They're almost always well made, but when every film is about the same thing, it gets a bit dull.

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

True Grit. A gem in a sea of mediocrity that is American cinema. Can’t really go wrong with a movie that has the Dude Jeff Bridges in it. Wasn’t sure about casting Matt Damon in it but the boy done good. The Coens cast a lot of relative unknowns who more than held their own against the big names – Hailee Steinfeld is definitely a name to watch out for.

Just a good story well told by people who understand cinema instead of the usual 3D / CGI bollocks that now passes for entertainment. Definitely one to watch when it hits the UK.

 

[SE4 GULL]

I went to the cinema yesterday and saw The Way Back which documents the escape of several prisoners who escape from a Siberean war camp and walk all the way to India, across the Himalayas to find freedom. Thought it was excellent, no cheesy speeches, random love stories or over exaggerated gore. Would definitely recommend it.

Also saw The Tourist which is a good movie for a bit of a light hearted laugh, Angelina Jolie is brilliant in it and Jonny Depp has his usual quirkiness.

Would recommend both.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

So Cruise was fundamentally playing himself?

I think Cruise always comes across as a bloody nice bloke myself.

 

[vegster]

I think the whole point of Cruise in War of the Worlds was that he was meant to be a self obssessed, unlikeable bloke who was thrown in the deep end trying to protect his kids.

Kermode rates it highly so each to their own.

I thought WotW's was pretty poor all around but I'm with you when find Cruise has " Something" about him.. I usually always find him watchable and he really does interact well with fans. I still remember his great performace in Collateral, fantastic role that took him away from his previous goody two shoes roles.

 

[Acker79]

I think the whole point of Cruise in War of the Worlds was that he was meant to be a self obssessed, unlikeable bloke who was thrown in the deep end trying to protect his kids.

Exactly. He was a guy who was a lousy father, and the invasion of aliens helped him learn what was important, allowing him to become a better father.

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

Also saw The Tourist which is a good movie for a bit of a light hearted laugh, Angelina Jolie is brilliant in it and Jonny Depp has his usual quirkiness.

Interesting. I thought the Tourist was terrible. Could see the "twist" a mile off and thought the acting was pretty lame. All about opinions though

 

[Meade's Ball]

Been a reasonably busy film weekend for the Meade. Yesterday i sat through the reasonably tense 127 Hours. It wasn't a surprise in any particular part, the story obviously having been true and told, but Danny Boyle generally knows how to keep the tensions up. The camera is full of cheeky inside-outs and tricksy movements, never laying truly still. The colour of the earth itself is oft explosive and enthrallingly textured, sometimes like the inside of a body, what a spleen might look like if imagined, where rivers of blood inside flow and reamass. Sadly, i didn't feel much for the character Franco plays. He has a slight lackingness of something, Franco. He tried hard, certainly, but i never feel like him.

Now that is where the quality of filmmaking and acting makes such a difference with the King's Speech. I am a proud anti-monarchist, and can so rarely see myself at a loss like a royal might be, that empathy for their well-funded plight seemed impossible. The King's Speech, however, rendered an enormous sense of feeling from me. The difficulties that George VI had, from both his family and his general inability to communicate with anyone, had me reeling. I felt a lot for him and any happiness he had i cheered silently for. A very effective film, tying neat storytelling to a factlet or two of history, and tugging at our heartstrings with one man's troubled every day. Firth is excellent and i hope he gets rewarded.

 

[Acker79]

I saw both of those films today, too.

I saw The King's Speech first. I am largely indifferent to the royal family, while I won't rush out for films about royals, I am not hard to lure to them as long as they are good/interesting. This, I agree was a very good film, I was most impressed by the understated nature of their friendship, usually these sorts of films, particularly modern set ones, tend to hit you over the head with the emotional milestones, whereas this film kept it in check so there weren't gushing "I miss you so much it hurts sometimes" moments. A slight nod meaning so much more than any cloying monologue about the importance of someone in their lives. But the performances of Rush, Firth and Bonham-Carter were all very good, which was important as they carried the bulk of the film.

I followed that up with 127 Hours. This one I didn't enjoy. Not in a "that was gross" way, but in a "dull bored, dragging 95mins of my life", way. I didn't feel for Franco, I didn't feel like there was much of an emotional journey either for the character or the audience, I found that three way split screen thing increasingly annoying and just generally didn't like it. I don't know if those are the reason I disliked them, or if they are just what annoyed me about a film I watched straight after enjoying The King's Speech so much that it couldn't possibly match up, or maybe I needed more of a break between films than the timings allowed.