| Sarah's profileSarah's Movie Review Spa...PhotosBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
June 19 X Men: The Last StandX Men: The Last Stand, the third film in the franchise, is altogether different from it's predecessors. It's also more shocking, despatching established characters from the offset so you're left with the feeling that anyone could be next.
The action is fast and furious and well handled: stand out sequences including a glimpse into the Danger Room, Magneto's attack on a government prison convoy, the final showdown. . .
However, this seems all to be at the expense of characterisation, which is a great shame (it being the strong point of the earlier films). New characters are introduced so swiftly I was left not knowing their name or with no good idea of their powers. I spent most of the film trying to work out if one of Magneto's new Goth mutants was a man or woman (I'm still not clear on this!)
High points: Amazing action sequences, shocking twists, The Phoenix kicking ass, fanboy nods, Wolverine in general
Low points: Not much character development. Not as good as the previous two films.
X Men: The Last Stand (7/10) Exciting action sequences at the expense of characterisation May 09 Mission Impossible IIITom Cruise stars in the thrid installment of the Mission Impossible franchise, this time directed by J J Abrams, and with Philip Seymour Hoffman as the villain.
Where the first Mission Impossible film had a terribly confusing plot, and the second film no plot at all (mainly just a homage to Tom Cruise's hair), this film provides a nice balance between the two, with an exciting plot that is just complicated enough.
The influence of J J Abrams is everywhere- especially noticeable if you are an Alias fan- from the style itself (and the elusive 'Rabbits Foot'- the device they are searching for) to the blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance of Alias favourite Weisz at the beginning. Plus Tom Cruise has clearly been visiting Sydney's Wig Shop! Also watch out for spy movie homage- such as the scene on the bridge from True Lies.
There are some obvious twists, but overall it's a very exciting, enjoyable couple of hours. Philip Seymour Hoffman is especially effective as a villain, as chilling and realistic as they come.
Highlights: Scene where they break into the Vatican, Tom's many disguises which include Monk's garb and 'dress like a Czech'. Any scene featuring Mission Impossible theme.
Low points: Maybe the romantic scenes, but they're not that bad.
Mission Impossible 3 8/10 Best so far of the franchise
April 30 Tristan and IsoldeStars James Franco (or Harry from Spiderman) and Rufus Sewell, among others, it's a tale of tragic love between Tristan (a Briton) and Isolde (Irish princess-type) in the Dark Ages.
Action sequences are pretty good, enjoyed some head severing and general skewering. Tristan is a bit wet though, you can't understand Isolde's infatuation with him (unless it's his fabulous hair) and honestly, she'd be better off with Rufus Sewell's king. Rufus Sewell is easily the best thing in the film, making you sympathise very much with him and not the star-crossed lovers.
High points: Good fighting scenes. Good hair.
Low points: Drippy romance.
A word of caution- if you've seen the trailer, you've virtually seen the film.
And the supposedly tragic ending had me laughing and branded a "soulless beast".
Tristan and Isolde 5/10 Ok, but nothing more. FirewallDragged to see this without wanting to, this was Harrison Ford's latest effort.
Harrison plays a man whose family are kidnapped by evil Englishman Paul Bettany and held until Harrison robs the bank he is employed by for him. Obviously, however, he does not go along with his plans and decides to take matters into his own hands.
You know you're off to a bad start when Harrison Ford is playing the same character he has played in almost every film for the last 10 years, and when you spend your time wishing his family were being more poorly treated in the film.
Highlights: A Jesus song, and some very poor threatening behaviour from Paul Bettany involving knee breaking (or not).
Low points: The rest. Some shocking dialogue.
Firewall 3/10 This film contains no surprises whatsoever, and may be one of the most generic action films I've ever seen February 15 Many many filmsBeen very lazy lately and not updated.
So, since (eek- November!) have watched:
Corpse Bride (good)
The Libertine (poor)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (great!)
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (also great)
King Kong (good but slightly worthy)
Just like Heaven (nice but not that fab)
Match Point (good if a little peculiar)
March of the Penguins (Penguins! Yeah!)
Brokeback Mountain (excellent, the best film I have seen all year!!)
Hidden (French, good but odd. Nasty rooster decapitation scene)
Derailed (odd but not that good. Nasty Jennifer Aniston rape scene)
November 03 Lord Of War & The Legend of ZorroLord Of War stars the ever dependable Nicholas Cage and the ever attractive Jared Leto as two brothers who turn to arms dealing as a way of making money. As drugs and the feds begin to close in, will the brothers choose money or morals and their families?
This film is very enjoyable, if a little worthy. It's nice to actually have an intellectual action film, and the opening sequence, although shocking, is fantastic.
Lord Of War (6/10) Intellectual action film
On the other hand, The Legend of Zorro is an action film with absolutely no intellect whatsoever. Antonio Banderas returns as Zorro, with Catherine Zeta Jones as his now estranged wife, who leaves him for Rufus Sewell's evil Count. They are joined in this film by their irritating child son.
This is nowhere near as good as the Mask of Zorro. There are nice touches throughout, like scenes of horses rearing in a classic romantic fashion, and any scene where Zorro draws a big 'Z' on something. But the plot is confusing, and the 'failed marriage' aspect is depressing, as is Zorro wallowing in his own misery. And don't even get me started on the son, who's in it far too much.
The Legend of Zorro (4/10) Predictable, forgettable, but enjoyable hogwash all the same October 19 Serenity & DominoOnly have time for hasty reviews today I'm afraid.
Serenity was written and directed by Joss Whedon of Buffy and Angel fame, and based on his short lived TV series Firefly.
I haven't actually ever seen Firefly (its not made it to terrestrial TV yet) but having seen this film I now really want to. It's a great film, scary in places, with the humour of Buffy and Angel. Not having seen the series doesn't cause a problem, though it does make one of the characters in the film (who we named Angora, but that wasn't actually her name), who apparently is terribly important in the series, appear completely redundant. Also it's really nice to see a fantasy/sci fi film like this in the cinema, particularly as terrestrial TV is so devoid of decent scifi shows at the moment.
Serenity (8/10) Go see it!
Also recently I've watched Domino.
Plot: Keira Knightley is a model turned bounty hunter who ends up with a reality series and in some trouble involving the Mob. It's very stylish, and Keira is very un-Keira like. It's also quite funny in parts, but there are some very gruesome bits (shut your eyes for the bit with the arm!)
Domino (5/10) A triumph of style over substance. October 09 Several films all at onceRecently I've seen several films but been too busy to write them up!
So:
Revolver
WTF? Makes little sense. Too much voice over and I REALLY didn't need to see Ray Liotta's ass. A few good bits but not really my cup of tea.
(4/10) Confusing.
Land of the Dead
Zombies, argh! Entertaining but not much plot to speak of. Mainly just quite gory, worst bits were the zombie clown (eeek!) and the bit where a zombie rips out a girls belly button piercing. Best bit was all the zombies emerging from a river. Spooky!
(5/10) Standard zombie fare
Oliver Twist
Quite good. Much better for having no singing. Still not keen on cockney street urchins but the child actors were actually quite bearable. Quite dark for a PG though.
(6/10) Best version of Oliver Twist I've seen so far
September 30 Howls Moving CastleI was terribly excited to see that they were making a film of one of my favourite books, Howls Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. And more excited to find it actually came to the cinema.
Other reviews said that it looked fantastic, but that the plot was a bit confusing. No problem, thought I, having read the book, the plot will be easy to follow.
Except that they changed the plot!!
(Here I must point out that I don't think I can review this film without constant reference to the book)
The plot: A young girl named Sophie is turned into an old woman by the Witch of the Waste (who's a pretty nasty piece of work). She goes to the moving castle belonging to the Wizard Howl, and enters into a pact with a fire demon named Calcifer- if she will break the pact he has with Howl, he will remove the spell on her.
The film looks lovely, but I didn't like what they did with the plot. It was confusing, and I personally think the book is a damn sight better. It makes more sense and is a better story generally. And some of the best bits in the book weren't there- like when Howl goes out and gets roaring drunk, the trips to his secret bolt hole (which is in fact Wales, as Howl is a Welshman), and the whole unravelling of the plot in the end. And the bit where Sophie is a witch. And the Witch of the Waste, who is a total badass character, and in the film becomes a terribly pathetic figure.
Howls Moving Castle (7/10) A good film, but not a patch on the book. September 24 Pride and PrejudiceI must admit I had reservations at the outset about this film. I love the book, and for me the definitive adaption of this is the BBC series of 1995, with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. I decided it was worth a look though, and having heard many different views of it, went the other day.
Firstly, the film does have a slightly rushed feeling, especially the first hour. You don't really get to know any characters apart from Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), and her sisters are indistinguishable, apart from Jane.
It looks fantastic, and has a much more natural feel than the BBC version- there are chickens and pigs running about, and when the film does slip into a more romantic sense- Elizabeth stood on a hill in the Peak District with her skirts blowing in the wind- it works so well. The costumes are more understated, as well, which although again more natural, is a bit disappointing.
Keira Knightley is excellent- she's witty, and makes quite a girlish Elizabeth. Matthew MacFayden is a good Darcy, but he's not quite horrible enough to begin with, which makes his transformation following her rejection of him less dramatic. I especially liked the scenes where it rained on him, and the scene where he doesn't wear a cravat (something I think should be in all period dramas!). There was nothing, however, to top Colin Firth jumping in the lake, and for me, he is still the definitive Darcy. The rest of the cast are good, though Bingley seems to have been turned into a half-wit, with insanely tall hair.
Standout scenes are the rejection scene in the rain, and the ending. I also liked the scene where Bingley rehearses with Darcy what he will say to Jane. You find yourself wanting to splice the two versions together- the BBC adaption and this film, as each does certain things better.
My other major gripe is that there is no kiss at the end. I realise that they didn't go around kissing each other in the Jane Austen novel, but it would have been nice to have some kind of pay off at the end! It's what we want!
Pride and Prejudice (7/10) Good performances, but no BBC version September 16 Must Love DogsMust Love Dogs stars Diane Lane, and the lovely John Cusack, as two divorced 40somethings looking for love second time round via online dating. Diane Lane is a pre-school teacher (giving her lots of opprtunities to look cute with the kids- aawww) and John Cusack builds wooden boats (he's a sensitive artist, yet also practical and manly
 ), he faces competition from Dermot Mulroney, the father of one of her students. This is rather an odd film. There are moments when is it really funny- often when John Cusack is on screen- but there are also scenes were you cringe at the cheesiness and predictability of it all. I am thinking especially here of the boating scene towards the end.
John Cusack is great in everything, and here looks fantastic in a particularly fetching coat. The dogs are very adorable, and made me wish for a giant Mother Theresa of my own. Awwww! There should possibly have been more doggy scenes though. I was rather disturbed to find myself identifying with the 40 year old divorced woman, but feel it will probably appeal best to just those women.
Must Love Dogs (5/10) Fans of John Cusack or 40yr old women will find something to enjoy here. September 12 The IslandSaw the Island the other day.
Wrote review several times but it wouldn't save it each time. So now am fed up, and will briefly summarise my thoughts.
The Island- nice looking, yet ultimately shallow film (despite interesting set up), Scarlett Johansson is wasted in a 'female sidekick love interest' role. Sean Bean, is, of course, excellent. Ewan is also fun in his dual roles (with multiple accents).
The Island (6/10) Logans Run with cloning August 27 The Perfect Catch aka Fever Pitch (2005) & Monster in LawWell, am back from Canada!! Had a fabulous time and the place is great. Canadians are so friendly!
So, have only managed to watch a couple of films while away. Saw The Perfect Catch on the plane outbound (and Sahara again), and Monster In Law on the way back (after which I couldn't be bothered watching Miss Congeniality 2, or Are we there yet?). Also caught odd bits of old favourites on various channels while away- like Batman (1966 version! hurrah!) and Tim Burton's version (also big hurrah for Keaton), The Crow, managed to watch various bits of Romancing the Stone and the Jewel of the Nile until had basically seen them fully, even if slightly out of order- they were always on TV!) and also the oddest edited version of Die Hard ever, with all the swearing (even the word 'ass') removed and then the dialogue dubbed over, but leaving in some rather nasty scenes of violence!
So, The Perfect Catch, aka Fever Pitch (2005) starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon, based on the novel by Nick Hornby (previously adapted into Fever Pitch starring the lovely Colin Firth), only this time the film is set in the US, and instead of being obsessed with football, the main character is obsessed with baseball.
So, will he choose Drew Barrymore, or his beloved baseball team? Will she let him give up his team for her? Does anyone care?
The answer is no, not especially. I wasn't exactly gripped by this, partially because I knew the outcome of the movie (having both seen the original film and read the novel), and partially because baseball doesn't interest me in the slightest. In fact, I generally don't like sport films (with the exception of Kevin Costner ones- don't ask why!) Drew Barrymore is fine in it, Jimmy Fallon is also ok. The film tries to pull in both genders- it's a rom-com for the girls and a sport film for the guys. But if you're going to watch a version of this, go for the original. At least it's got Colin Firth in it, even if he does have very bad hair.
The Perfect Catch (4/10) Passes the time, I suppose
Monster In Law was the movie on the way back. Before I begin the review of this I should probably stress it has likely been influenced by the fact that this was the flight from hell, with cramped seats, revolting food, and surly staff. So in other conditions it may have been better, I just don't know.
So, Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez star in the tale of a young woman meeting her boyfriend's (Michael Vartan of Alias and Never Been Kissed) crazy mother, and the battle of wits that ensues en route to the wedding day.
This film has some scenes of dark comedy from the vicious mother-in-law (Jane Fonda is quite amusing and hams it up fairly well), and the highlight of the entire movie is seeing Jennifer Lopez get slapped. You go, Jane! Because although Jennifer's character is meant to be quite cute and sweet, she's actually just really annoying, and you're longing for her to get slapped. (Notice also that both Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's exes star in this- wonder if they had lots to chat about on set? Hehe)
So, the film would've been an average 5/10, until the end, when all that nice fairly dark comedy is abandoned for slushy touchy-feely pap. Revolting!
Monster In Law (4/10) Passable dark comedy let down by a poor ending.
Anyway, now have to have lots of trips to the cinema to catch up on what I've missed! (The Island, the Dukes of Hazzard and The Cave probably should do it) August 02 Fantastic FourI did write a review of the Fantastic Four when I saw it two weeks ago. But unfortunately it did not save properly and so was lost. Can't be bothered rewriting it, so briefly here's what I thought:
As long as you bear in mind it's meant to be a fun, family oriented film, then any reviews you have read have probably been overly harsh. The film seems very plot driven, and yet something is lacking in the storyline. However, overall, it's enjoyable and fun.
Fantastic Four (6/10) Fun, but not fantastic
Well, folks, I'm off to Canada now for 3 weeks, so there's gonna be a gap in the reviews for a while. See you all when I get back. xxxx
Boogeyman/MadhouseDown at the video (or should I say DVD?) rental shop (aka the Bargain Booze), we decided that a double bill of daft horror was the way to go with our pizza and wine.
First up: Boogeyman. This Sam Raimi produced effort actually had a theatrical release, so it was one up on Madhouse, the second choice.
Boogeyman is about a young man who, terrified as a child by the Boogeyman (who emerges from the closet to do nasty things to his dad), finds that he is back! And, of course, picking off his friends and neighbours.
Fairly scary in parts (by my standards anyway- we let out a couple of shrieks), the Boogeyman was less so (as always with such films) when we got to see what he looked like. The idea was quite clever- the Boogeyman, as everyone knows, lurks under the bed, in cupboards and especially wardrobes. The main guy, who I remember was called Tim because his annoying love interest kept yelling his name, lived in fear of him in an apartment with no cupboard doors, clothes on rails, and a see through refrigerator door, all of which I thought were nice touches. The death of his mother causes him to leave his irritating girlfriend, and return home to his spooky childhood home, that was exactly as they left it to confront his fears, as advised by his counsellor.
The ending is slightly daft, although as my friend Nicola said "you could see what they were trying to do, but it isn't that scary and doesn't really work".
Boogeyman (5/10) Daft nonsense
Madhouse
The plot: a young student doctor (the 'guy from the Blair Witch' sporting a terrible hair and beard combo) turns up at a scary TV style asylum to work to get course credit. It's run by the fabulous Lance Henrickson (who's slightly sinister as you would expect). It's fairly obvious there is something wrong with the place- and that's before he gets to go into the creepy basement, where they keep the really mad ones (who obviously all look very freakish).
He soon becomes convinced that the place is haunted, and then staff start to die quite horribly. But who is the perpetrator? Who is the mysterious patient in cell 44? Is all as it seems?
Obviously you have to throw logic out the window for a film like this- no real mental health facility is like this, and if it were, there's no way it would stay open if the staff were being killed left, right and centre! (And don't even get me started on the lax security!) The plot unravels at a fairly good speed but reminds me quite a bit of a teenage Point Horror book, especially the end, which we could see coming a mile off, and was also terribly silly.
Madhouse (4/10) Vaguely interesting, not that scary.
July 14 Wedding CrashersLast night I decided to go and see the Wedding Crashers. I went on my own (which is fairly unusual for me) but obviously knew quite a lot of the people there.
The film stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as two womanisers who crash weddings to meet women who, due to the romantic atmosphere, are unable to resist their charms. But then they crash the wedding of Christopher Walken's daughter, and while Owen Wilson falls for one of the bridesmaids, and Vince Vaughn finds himself entangled with another.
The laughs come thick and fast, and the content is more adult than earlier efforts from the Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn/Ben Stiller school of comedy- the film includes nudity (shockingly from Jane "Dr Quinn Medicine Woman" Seymour- my eyes! my eyes!) and copious amounts of swearing. There's also some highly amusing slapstick as Vince Vaughn plays competitive sports with Will from Alias, who is perfectly cast as a nasty, gung-ho boyfriend.
Jokes come from all directions- weddings and their traditions (personally written vows!), to dysfunctional family life (the sweet old granny who is anything but). Watch out for the dinner party scene and the hunting sequence!
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are hilarious in their respective roles, convincingly heartless initially, but also making you care enough about them by the end to make the 'romance' aspect of the film work.
Wedding Crashers (8/10) A refreshingly different breed of romantic comedy, and a good laugh.
July 11 Kindergarten NinjaWhilst in London I was treated to a film called Kindergarten Ninja. It came on 2 disc with another 'classic' called Heart, which had a very young Steve Buscemi in, and was purchased for £1 from a local bargain type shop.
However, the description on the back of the box made us decide to watch Kindergarten Ninja. So, the plot: A sports star (who I think was called Blade Steel or something similar) is a womaniser, drinker, and general all round bad guy. He gets caught drink driving and sentenced to helping out in an after school programme (quite why they send drink drivers to teach children I don't know). Also, an angel called Bruce (who hides his face constantly) is sent to help Blade, and does this by taking him to a martial arts instructor. Because, you see, the children of the school are being targeted by an evil drug lord.
And Blade is the only one who can stop him because the police are unable to do anything. Of course, Blade, although initially sceptical of Bruce and his anti-drinking ways, learns the error of his ways, and stops drinking, befriends the kids, and even romances a woman with scary sideburns. This is a terrible film. Of course, we knew this before we put it on, but the acting is non-existent, and the whole thing is sponsored by a anti drink and drug campaign. The prospect of small children trained as ninjas was not as exciting in practice as in theory, and the action sequences involved kicks that clearly never land on the opponent, and then falling onto empty cardboard boxes. High points: epilogue style ending was amusing. Was laughably bad in parts. Also seemed to mostly consist of training montages, in which footage was reused over and over and improvement in skill was not really apparent. Low points: Most of the film. Was generally just bad. Louise slept through most of it Kindergarten Ninja (1/10) Bad. If you ever come across it don't even bother. July 01 War of the WorldsOn Wednesday I watched War of the Worlds. When we emerged from the cinema two hours later, there were mixed opinions of the film, but overall I enjoyed it.
I haven't seen the original, so I can make no comparisons to it (though I've been told it's not as good as the original version). Tom Cruise stars and Steven Spielberg directs (but unless you live under a rock you know this). Tom plays a father looking after his teenage son and young daughter (the excellent Dakota Fanning) for the weekend when the aliens attack.
The action sequences are terrific, as is the way the whole film purely on the family's experience of the attack, rather than cutting to major cities under attack, or the President's reaction. The Tripods are also shown mostly from below, as this is the way humans see them. It's quite a gloomy film, perhaps lacking the sense of fun that summer blockbusters usually have. The reaction of the crowds generally (panic, mob mentality, confusion) are very realistic, this isn't a film where a one-man army can save the day. Though The Cruiser does his little bit.
Stand-out scenes would be the initial Tripod attack, the scene in the car with the mob outside, the ferry scene, and the national guard attack on the hill. My personal favourite is seeing Tom Cruise get sucked up what looks like a giant bumhole. It's a bit gross but quite funny (though probably unintentionally).
Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning are great in their roles (and if you've seen Man On Fire you know how good she is at screaming) but was slightly unnerved at how Robbie the teenage son looked just like someone I know. Tim Robbins is only in the film for about 20 minutes or so, adding weight to the proceedings as a man clearly a bit unhinged. War of the Worlds (7/10) Good all round entertainment, and a scarily realistic alien invasion film. June 30 Audio description, shopping trip.I saw War of the Worlds last night, but will write a review of that soon.
The last thing I saw that the cinema was Star Wars Revenge of the Sith with the added joy of audio description and subtitles.
For those who don't know, audio description is for the visually impaired, and involves wearing headphones and the action on screen is described to you during breaks in dialogue. The BBC recently had an ad campaign about it.
So, armed with my headphones, I sat down to watch it. The titles rolled. . . and of course I had picked a pair of headphones with dead batteries!! So, after dashing back to get another pair (and a spare) I sat down again. Fortunately the screen was fairly empty (subtitles ensured this- people don't like to have actual words on screen) so I didn't disturb many people with my random giggling. Because in parts it was truly hilarious! This is what you get: "The bearded Jedi furiously battles with his lightsaber. In the background, a vast battle continues. He furrows his brow" (there was a lot of brow furrowing/wrinkling going on). But it was funniest when random background scenery was described during pauses in emotional speeches- for instance during one of Anakin and Padme's scenes in her apartment, there is plenty of heartfelt dialogue and then suddenly Pompous Voiceover Man goes "In the background, water falls into a golden fountain", which totally broke the atmosphere.
Loved the audio description generally though. Only problem is wearing those headphones actually becomes very painful after an hour or so, evidently the people who make them have never sat with them on for any length of time. I went shopping today, was very restrained in the HMV summer sale! Picked up a copy of Flatliners for £3.99, which I thought was bargainous. I've seen half of it a few years ago, and it was pretty good, so looking forward to watching it. Plus it has a young Kiefer Sutherland in it!
 Also bought a pair of flip flops (braving the toe posts- hopefully they won't be too uncomfortable).June 15 Batman BeginsSo last night decided to go watch Batman Begins.
|
) so was interested to see what direction the new film would take. 
|
|
