Film Review - Summer Lovers (1982)

Summer Lovers is about an American couple, Michael (Peter Gallagher) and Cathy (Daryl Hannah) heading on a holiday to the Greek islands in order to enjoy themselves, have some fun in the sun and in the case of Cathy, enjoy some time to herself and have a sense of freedom, but one day while exploring some caverns Michael comes across an archaeologist named Lina (Valerie Quennessen) who changes his life forever.

Summer Lovers is an okay film directed by Randal Kleiser who also made Grease and the Blue Lagoon and here he shows off the Greek scenery to full effect and you can't say you blame him for doing so as the islands look terrific, Gallagher and Hannah also do a good job with their roles too even if their dialogue is a little flat at times.

But this movie belongs to one person and one person alone and that is Quennessen, quite frankly she is absolutely wonderful in this movie with those beautiful eyes that say so much and her natural easy going charm that would make just about any man fall in love with her right there and then, she steals the show as far as I'm concerned and that sadly is the good part.

Now comes the bad part, a few years after making the film, Quennessen was killed in a car crash in France which is such a sad waste as she was very talented and charismatic, in all honesty part of me keeps wishing that she was able to do the remake of Breathless with Richard Gere before she died as she would've stood toe to toe with Gere and made that film a big hit, don't get me wrong Valerie Kaprisky wasn't that bad in that film but Gere blew her off the screen, that wouldn't have happened with Quennessen had she had the chance to do that role.

All in all, watch this movie for the scenery and Quennessen's performance, though it may also have you thinking what might have been had she lived to do other movies and leave more of a mark than the brief flicker that remains, it was said in the movie Blade Runner that the light that burns twice burns half as long well this was one light that burned so very very brightly and it was also one that deserved to burn far longer than it ultimately did, may she rest in peace, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - The Seventh Sign (1988)

The Seventh Sign is an apocalypse tale that tells of the seven signs of God or to be more precise the seven signs that foretell the end of the world, with the sun becoming black and the moon turning to blood and the boiling oceans that kill everything inside them, meanwhile Abbey Quinn (Demi Moore) is pregnant with her first child and her and her husband Russell a lawyer (Michael Biehn) take in an old man (Jurgen Prochnow) who may have more to him that what is seemed.

Going into this movie I was expecting a somewhat competent apocalyptic tale of death and destruction but something that would ultimately be forgettable but I was surprised by how much I got into this movie, it was I felt very well made, well directed with a nice sense of pathos and with some good performances from Moore, Biehn and Prochnow.

But I think what makes the film work as well as it does is the integration of the religious aspect regarding Judgment Day, not a new idea to be sure but here it seemed to have that feeling of believability to it with the quoting of the Bible and the use of the priests in a key role to the film's events, something that could've easily killed the movie if not done well but here is given the right treatment.

All in all, I found this to be a well made apocalypse tale with some good performances, certainly one of the better ones I've seen to be sure, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - Unknown (2011)

Unknown stars Liam Neeson as Dr. Martin Harris who at the beginning of the film is arriving in Berlin with his wife Liz played by January Jones to give a talk at a Biotech conference, but he mistakenly leaves a briefcase at the airport he takes a taxi back to collect it but is in a mysterious accident not long after and wakes up in the hospital not remembering anything, but there is more to this than meets the eye.

Unknown is a serviceable action thriller that is thankfully not very long and it has some good performances from Neeson, Diane Kruger and Frank Langella all of whom I like quite a bit especially Neeson who would have to be one of my favourite actors.

However, the script for this movie borders on the ridiculous at times and it got to the point where I not only started laughing (especially at the German accents in this movie that made me think of the "Don't Mention the War" sketch from Fawlty Towers) but also thinking that some of the characters may as well have put name pins on them saying "I'm the Bad Guy", "I'm his accomplice" and "I'm the Dead Man".

But hey, if you want to see some good Liam Neeson action, my advice is to rent Taken instead and skip this one, its a serviceable thriller but one that I didn't find engaging or interesting, the whole thing just bordered on being downright silly, 1 out of 5.

FIlm Review - The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

The Adjustment Bureau is based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick and stars Matt Damon as David Morris, a Senate candidate for the state of New York who loses but one night meets a young ballerina played by Emily Blunt, they get to know each other but it may turn out to be that destiny has other ideas.

The Adjustment Bureau starts off pretty well with an interesting premise that being that the fate that we choose to make may not be what is planned for us in the grand scheme of things and that sometimes things happen because they are simply meant to and it also has some very nice location work in New York which helps give the feel of authenticity to the film and there is also a good performance by Terence Stamp as one of the senior adjusters, Stamp has always been a long time favourite and not only was it a pleasure to see him in this movie, I also had a bit of a geek out when he first came on screen.

However the film has a big weakness in the casting of Damon, quite frankly he has very little chemistry with Blunt and the character is meant to be this young hot shot when Damon himself is nearly 40 in real life, the film also flip flops around with the rules regarding the adjusters which like in Source Code is a little annoying but unlike Source Code didn't get on my nerves.

All in all, the film was okay, nothing great but nothing that terrible either, 2 out of 5.

Film Review - Real Steel (2011)

Real Steel stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a former boxer who is now retired as the world has moved to robot boxing, after losing a robot in a bull ring he learns that the mother of his son has died and young Max (Dakota Goyo) is now in his care, one night he goes to collect the kid and he falls down a cliff only to be saved by an old robot.

Real Steel is actually a pretty enjoyable film, thanks largely to Jackman's presence, Jackman has the ability to slip into the shoes of almost any character seamlessly and here he does a great job as well as a somewhat convincing American accent though it does at times slip back into his natural accent.

I also liked the robot effects, they looked pretty convincing and the fights were for the most part well filmed by director Shawn Levy though at times they did go a little too close, also the story for the most part borders on being a bit predictable but it didn't affect my enjoyment of the film too much though another small niggle I had was with the score by Danny Elfman, I was hoping it would found more of that Bill Conti feel from the Rocky series as I did find myself humming some of that music in parts of this film.

So overall, Real Steel is a great time at the movies with the kind of tone I really wished had been in the Transformers movies instead of the heartless piles of mashed up junk we got, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - Source Code (2011)

Source Code stars Jake Gyllenhall as what seems to be Jeff, a school teacher who is on a train heading into Chicago and sitting across from him is Christina Warren played by Michelle Monahan, but suddenly a bomb goes off killing all on board, but there is more to all of this than meets the eye.

To start things off I think that the movie is well directed by Duncan Jones, also known for the 2009 sleeper Moon, he paces the film well and doesn't let things run on too long though I also can't help but think that he was helped in this endeavour by the films editor Paul Hirsch who also helped edit Star Wars and the Empire Strikes Back, there are also some good performances in this film particularly by Jeffrey Wright and Vera Farmiga.

However I have a BIG bone to pick with this film and that is with the script, quite frankly it is pathetic, plot hole ridden and at times illogical, now to be fair it opens very well with the initial train explosion but after that Gyllenhall asks all these stupid questions that make you think "JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO THE FUCKING LADY YOU DOPE".

I know I shouldn't have done that but it's because Farmiga's character (probably the only character in this movie with SOME intelligence and humanity) tells you exactly what you need to know before going into the train but Gyllenhall keeps asking all these stupid questions that are very off putting and to be frank made me angry, you're asking me to play fair dinkum with the movie and the logic within it but why should I do that when the movie itself keeps throwing up these endless and pointless questions about the who, what, where and why of all this when you only need to know that info at the time its required, all it did in the end is make me think that the movie itself is unsure of itself especially in light of what I said earlier when its wanting a confidence from its audience to follow it when it doesn't project that same confidence within the world the movie exists in or in its own rules.

But wait there's more, and it regards the ridiculous ending that I can't say too much about it but quite frankly I found insulting as it betrayed what the film was saying up to that point but I guess it had to be there so the pretty leads that are oh so beloved could end up together and we can wrap the film up in a nice neat little bow and have the happy ending with the clear blue sky and singing birds and "love is in the air, everywhere I look around", give me a fucking break.

If you haven't guessed by now, I didn't think that much of this movie at all and all it did in the end was make me appreciate Chris Nolan's Inception a lot more, a movie that not only asked its audience to stick with it but also have the courage of its convictions and not dumb itself down to try and get the conventional audience to go and see the film and be confident of not only itself but the world it exists in it and the rules that guide it, .5 out of 5.

Film Review - Rio (2011)

Rio is an animated film by Blue Sky studios, best known for making the Ice Age series, the story here is that a rare Blue Macaw bird is captured from his natural habitat and placed in captivity in a rural town in Minnesota, but he is found by a young girl who raises him as her pet and one day, a bird doctor comes to her book shop and says that he must go to Rio and meet a female from his species voiced by Anne Hathaway so that their race will survive.

Rio is a better than average animated film with some rather nice visuals that look great with their bright colours and starry nights, yet again proof as to why you don't need 3D as it would dark and dim and blurry like all 3D productions do these days, though there are some rare exceptions.

As for the voice acting, well it isn't too bad though the bright spot was Hathaway who gives a spirited performance and reminds you of how good an actress she can be when given the chance to prove herself and carry a film on her own two shoulders which she can do almost effortlessly which was also proved by the re do of Get Smart she did a few years ago.

But in all honesty, Hathaway's the only reason to check out the film as pretty visuals alone a good film does not make as outside of her the film borders on the boring, 1 out of 5.