Film 2009

[Acker79]

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
This was probably... decent. Not as great as the first two, but it doesn't seem to tell three stories in one film like Last Stand did. The special effects were inconsistent. There were some great effects, and then there were some really crappy ones - including some rather cartoonish looking wolverine claws. You'd think they'd want to make sure they got them right.

It wasn't as epic as I was expecting, and not as action focused (though there is plenty). There was an actual story and character journey, but it was simple and obvious.

Anyone who saw the first two x-men will be aware that Wolverine has no memory of how he got his adamantium skeleton. Since this film shows him getting it he has to lose his memory, and maybe it was the way they did it, but it seemed so much more trite and silly in this film than it did when he shows up not really knowing his past in the first film.

There's a clip at the end of the credits. Nothing profound or important, but if you're the sort that feels the need to watch it stay til the very end.

 

[Easy 10]

RocknRolla

Guy Ritchie is BANG on form and back in the territory he knows best - a fast-paced London crime caper with larger-than-life characters, a criss-cross plot and a script so sharp you could grate cheese with it. If Lock Stock and Snatch is your thing, make sure you see this. Superbly entertaining fayre, the hour and fifty absolutely FLEW by. I can't WAIT for the sequal.

9.0

 

[Beach Hut]

Brideshead Revisited

9 out 10 (not quite as good as the original series)

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

World of Lies- 8. I realyy enjoyed this. A look at the manipulations and different tactics used in the war on terror by different security services. DiCaprio is very good in it, Russel Crowe passable and whoever plays the head of Jordanian security is excellent. A 'serious' subject but easy to follow and very entertaining.

 

[Acker79]

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Matthew McConaughy is easily unpleasant as a manslut, Jennifer Garner is her usual sweet and sassy self. Guys, if your girlfriend/wife forces you to watch this you won't be too offended. Girls, you'll probably enjoy it, though it won't cause you to rearrange your favourite rom/coms to accommodate it.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

The Kite Runner - 7.3

A relatively accurate adaptation of an exceptional book. Slightly annoyed that I weakened and watched it in the end as it dispelled the magic ever so slightly and the film characters have muddied the pictures I had in my head. Not bad, but I would recommend the book ahead of the film.

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

Priceless (on DVD)

French movie starring Audrey Tautou and Gad Elmaleh - brilliant movie, very Breakfast at Tiffany's. Funny too. Will definitely be watching it again.

8/10

 

[Acker79]

Coraline 3D
Not exactly sure why this was made 3D, there aren't any particularly impressive scenes using the technology. I think this is going to struggle to find an audience, being animation a lot of adults and late teens are going to avoid it, it's probably too boring for the rest of the teens, and too dark and scary for a younger audience. Having said that, I quite enjoyed it, I think if you like nightmare before christmas you might like this, though probably not as much.

Star Trek
I rather enjoyed this. I got the impression from the trailer that Nero (Eric Bana) was going to be revealed as Kirk's father, simply for the sake of a 'shocking' twist. Thankfully I was wrong. I rather enjoyed this, I'm not a big trekker, so don't know how it rates compared to the others, but as a non-fan I found it very accessible, and a fine way to spend 2 hours.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Frida - watched this under duress but ended up quite enjoying it. It's about Frida Kahlo who was a Mexican artist and revolutionary who banged Trotsky one time before he got murked after they took him in. She had a monobrow of epic proportions. Oh and there are some excellent bangesr in it too. 7.2

 

[Acker79]

Angels and Demons
Pedestrian performances at best, still an ok couple of hours.

Gingerdead man 1 and 2 are on zone horror, check listings.

 

[coventrygull]

I finally got round to the Baader Meinhoff komplex. On the dvd there was a problem with the subtitles that were small and appear to blend into the film. Only watch if you have an interest and some knowledge of the Baader Meinhoff. As it is heavy going in parts. Otherwise I enjoyed it and will probably buy it

 

[Spider]

World of Lies- 8. I realyy enjoyed this. A look at the manipulations and different tactics used in the war on terror by different security services. DiCaprio is very good in it, Russel Crowe passable and whoever plays the head of Jordanian security is excellent. A 'serious' subject but easy to follow and very entertaining.

Funnily enough that sounds exactly like a film I saw called Body of Lies!

Must go and see Angels and Demons - apparently it's both ludicrous and appalling!

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Inkheart

Fantasy adventure about people who whtne they read a book its characterers come into the real World.

Ok but no great shakes. Nothing particularly memorable but something to while away 90 minutes if you like the family fantasy type film

5.9

 

[Meade's Ball]

I've started kind of reviewing films for a website, and over the weekend i had the honour of seeing He's Just Not That Into You and Seven Pounds on dvd. The first one was utter pap, a strained ensemble piece insulting to men and women. Do your best to ignore this.
Seven Pounds was intensely maudlin. Will Smith phones to ay he is committing suicide at the start and about halfway through this you want to join him, or give him a cheeky tickle to lighten the mood and remind him maybe everything isn't that bad. It's not a terrible film, but by no means a joy to watch.
Next up is Notorious, and not the beautifully-crafted Hitchcock one either. Pah.

 

[dannyboy]

im looking forward to this bad boy
sam raimi back to his roots. he did evil dead films

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

Funnily enough that sounds exactly like a film I saw called Body of Lies!

Ah, yes. That's the Japanese for you, sneakily changing the title of movies without any rhyme or reason...

 

[Acker79]

Tormented
I actually rather enjoyed it. I wasn't expecting to, but it wasn't full of the dumb cliches (other than the characters), they didn't split up to go searching, etc. There also wasn't the patronising explanation that you sometimes get, those stupid comments from the characters to explain what we can see just by watching the film. There were also other small things that weren't really important, but impressed me nonetheless, such as the sex scenes showing that they used condoms.

 

[fire&skill]

Wolverine - good

Star Trek - alright

Frost Nixon - brilliant

 

[vegster]

Angels and Demons

Just got back from the Ron Howard directed extended remake of the classic Monty Python sketch, “ Dead Bishop on the Landing”

Due to the paucity of Anglican Bishops the action has been moved to Rome and the Vatican City where there seems to be a surplus of Cardinals, which someone has decided to prune. Tom Hanks plays Tom Hanks as he struggles to come to terms with the fact that Rome has a lot of churches and statues and everything seems to be written in Italian.. In fact this film is almost akin to travelogue of Rome and the Vatican’s great architecture.. “ On the left now is the church of St. Mary deffacto and on the right is the burning Cardinal of Smolensk “ The convoy of intrepid crime solvers races around congested streets yet always find plenty of parking places outside the next site of interest. Is it that parking is at such a premium in Rome and that family members take it in turns to permanently keep their vehicles in motion as in a Le Mans time trial ?

This is a fast paced thriller which seems to have left the comedic roots of the sketch behind. The Church Police are even more inept than in the original and it seems that racing around in shiny black cars and saying “ You can’t go in there/You can’t see that book” seems the limit of their abilities. The body count of Cardinals and Church Police racks up quite quickly and Tom Hanks seems to attract stiffs in the same way that your best Chino’s seem to attract dirt.

Ewan Mcgregor reprises his role as Obi Wan Kenobi and gets to walk around looking very pious and concerned. “ Do you believe in God, Mr Hanks ?” he lilts softly….it could have as easily been “The Force “.

Indeed, Mr McGregor’s talents extend far beyond prayer and being pious. It seems that despite being the Popes fulltime gofer he has, in his spare time, learned how to pilot Helicopters, learned parachuting, how to assemble car bombs, has a fair knowledge of wireless video surveillance cameras, Antimatter Containment Fields and mastered the tricky ability to hire and pay a ruthless assassin using the Vatican City Pay pal account.

For some reason never properly explained he knobbled the old popes Blackjack supply in order to create a chance to show off to the global Cardinals these multiple skills and seems perplexed when the assembled Cardinals show a lack of “respec “ for his undoubted talents.

Tom Hanks relentlessly avoids walking in to furniture and falling over dead bodies as the tension mounts.
In the final scene Obi Wan immolates himself in order to rise up to Heaven with the Holy Father. This could be seen as a bit off a gamble if The Holy Father is a bit dissed about losing several top end worshippers, a lot of porcelain and having Tom Hanks wrecking his football programme collection in the previous few hours. I would have waited and found out what kind of mood he was in before buying the one way ticket.
Ultimately, this was a poor ending really, Obi Wan should have had a plan B if it all went wrong .and I would have expected him to jump in to a mini sub in a subterranean tunnel which would deliver him safely to his underwater fortress in the Mediterranean This would certainly be my thought given Mr. Howard’s remarkable similarity to Scott Evil ?

7

 

[Meade's Ball]

Went to see Mark of an Angel the other evening, emerging from the cinema into violent a tempest. French film concerning a woman in her 40s suddenly becoming a tad obsessed with a 7 year old girl who is the sister of her son's friend. All quite eerie with her dreams of her and sleeping in a car outside the family home to spy on her every move. It turns out she thinks the girl is the daughter she lost in a hospital fire as a baby.
It could have turned into the sort of limp crazy-ass-next-door action drama that starred Matthew Modine or Kurt Russell as the common-man marauded by Ray Liotta, but it never becomes that violent or standard. It's a drama based on a true story, they say, and there's a real intensity to it. There's also a classic movie-scream in it that half came out of nowhere that nearly shook me from my seat.
Worth a view if you fancy an emotional 90 minutes and French women. I thought it was alright.

The previous day i'd watched the non-Hitchcock version of Notorious about Biggie Smalls which i found to be utter shite. Why make a hagiographic biopic about a basically dislikeable, average rapper who treats women like shit? Not everyone dead is worthy of respect.