Spongebob: Sponge Out of Water continues the tale of Spongebob and his friends in Bikini Bottom who come under attack by a pirate (Antonio Banderas) and in order to save their home must go into the real world to take him on.
I was not a big fan of the TV series that this film is based on nor did I see the first movie made in 2004 but I will say that this has some good jokes in it that did make me laugh when I was watching it in the cinema and I really liked also seeing the traditional animation segment and hearing the original voice cast especially Clancy Brown who voices Mr Krabs and Banderas has a great time here acting effectively by himself as the villain.
Sadly however the film is both way too long (it felt like a 2 hour film and I just sat there at the halfway point going "I'm waiting for the plot to begin") and the segment in the real world isn't all that good as it was effectively spoiled in the numerous previews for this film and there wasn't much in the way of new stuff in that part to make me feel otherwise.
That being said though the young boys and the fans of the series will have a good time here and I liked some of it but not enough to recommend it, 1 out of 5.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Film Review - Cinderella (2015)
Cinderella is directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh and is based off of the classic fairytale and this one stars Lily James as Cinderella who suffers through the death of her parents and is treated badly by her stepmother (Cate Blanchett) but a chance encounter with the Prince (Richard Madden) could give her life a happy ending.
Hopes were fairly high for me heading to this film mainly because of the people involved, I'm a big fan of Branagh despite Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit from last year being an unmitigated disaster as well as Blanchett as the wicked stepmother which I just thought was inspired casting, could this be a night at the ball or not?
It was that indeed as I really enjoyed this movie, it was a grand old fairytale and Branagh did a terrific job here, James is very likeable as Cinderella and does a great job here hiding her real Northern England accent into a sweet voice, Blanchett just oozes villainy and style here and is much better here than she was in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Plastic Prop sorry Crystal Skull and I also liked seeing Stellan Skarsgard, Hayley Atwell and Derek Jacobi in their small roles.
The film also has a great musical score by long time Branagh composer Patrick Doyle (the ballroom dance music is really good) as well as great sets by Dante Feretti and the script by Chris Weitz is also good although I have to say that the message of courage and kindness was one that I found a little questionable after the film ended as I thought given the events of the film should have changed that somewhat.
But lastly I have to talk about the Frozen short which plays in front of this film and its okay but will mainly be for the fans of the film which I wasn't.
And so that was Cinderella which a great family time at the cinema for young and old and Sir Kenneth has made up for letting me down so much with Jack Ryan last year, 3 and a half out of 5.
Hopes were fairly high for me heading to this film mainly because of the people involved, I'm a big fan of Branagh despite Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit from last year being an unmitigated disaster as well as Blanchett as the wicked stepmother which I just thought was inspired casting, could this be a night at the ball or not?
It was that indeed as I really enjoyed this movie, it was a grand old fairytale and Branagh did a terrific job here, James is very likeable as Cinderella and does a great job here hiding her real Northern England accent into a sweet voice, Blanchett just oozes villainy and style here and is much better here than she was in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Plastic Prop sorry Crystal Skull and I also liked seeing Stellan Skarsgard, Hayley Atwell and Derek Jacobi in their small roles.
The film also has a great musical score by long time Branagh composer Patrick Doyle (the ballroom dance music is really good) as well as great sets by Dante Feretti and the script by Chris Weitz is also good although I have to say that the message of courage and kindness was one that I found a little questionable after the film ended as I thought given the events of the film should have changed that somewhat.
But lastly I have to talk about the Frozen short which plays in front of this film and its okay but will mainly be for the fans of the film which I wasn't.
And so that was Cinderella which a great family time at the cinema for young and old and Sir Kenneth has made up for letting me down so much with Jack Ryan last year, 3 and a half out of 5.
Film Review - Home (2015)
Home is the new Dreamworks Animated film and takes place in the future where an Alien race called the Boov take over Earth and relocate the humans one named Oh (Jim Parsons) then befriends a young girl named Tip (Rhianna) as they try to find her lost mother and avoid Captain Smek (Steve Martin) leader of the Boov as well as another Alien race called the Gorg.
Hmm, where to begin.
Well I should start with the smegging obvious which is that I hated this movie and I hated sitting through it for these key reasons:
- The first is that I just cannot stand either Rhianna or Parsons and listening to them both for long periods of time felt like torture to my ears, first off Parsons talks in a way WHERE IT IS LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME as if he has to enounciate every single word and Rhianna talks in that "I'm gonna like this all the time" in that really bratty way and there were times where I was like "Will you both just SHUT UP FOR 5 MINUTES" and neither of them were all that appealing in their roles and Martin who I love in Little Shop of Horrors as the Dentist is wasted here as he is given very little to work with.
- And the second reason is that the story doesn't really do an awful lot with its premise, the Gorg don't really do a lot here and the Boov aren't that interesting a race and it ends very very predictably and this is all why Dreamworks animation is in so much financial trouble, they don't take the time to develop a story to its fullest and rely far too much on getting the big stars to do the voicework to cover the cracks, I thought better of Jeffrey Katzenburg given how he single handedly revived Disney in the 80s and 90s but obviously I was wrong.
And so that was Home which I hated sitting through but the Kids ate up so this is one for them, 1 out of 5.
Hmm, where to begin.
Well I should start with the smegging obvious which is that I hated this movie and I hated sitting through it for these key reasons:
- The first is that I just cannot stand either Rhianna or Parsons and listening to them both for long periods of time felt like torture to my ears, first off Parsons talks in a way WHERE IT IS LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME as if he has to enounciate every single word and Rhianna talks in that "I'm gonna like this all the time" in that really bratty way and there were times where I was like "Will you both just SHUT UP FOR 5 MINUTES" and neither of them were all that appealing in their roles and Martin who I love in Little Shop of Horrors as the Dentist is wasted here as he is given very little to work with.
- And the second reason is that the story doesn't really do an awful lot with its premise, the Gorg don't really do a lot here and the Boov aren't that interesting a race and it ends very very predictably and this is all why Dreamworks animation is in so much financial trouble, they don't take the time to develop a story to its fullest and rely far too much on getting the big stars to do the voicework to cover the cracks, I thought better of Jeffrey Katzenburg given how he single handedly revived Disney in the 80s and 90s but obviously I was wrong.
And so that was Home which I hated sitting through but the Kids ate up so this is one for them, 1 out of 5.
Film Review - Run All Night (2015)
Run All Night stars Liam Neeson as Jimmy Conlon whose son Michael (Joel Kinnaman) gets caught up in trouble between members of the Mob led by Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris) so Jimmy decides to help Michael in the way only he knows best.
I have to say going into this film that I was not very keen primarily because with the exception of the first Taken film Neeson's action career has failed to impress ever since but this film added Ed Harris who is one of my favorite actors so hope was kindled for this film.
And nicely that hope wasn't let down as I thought that this was the first Neeson running and shooting and growling and shouting into his Mobile Phone going "I will find you and I will kill you" action picture since Taken to impress me and the reason here is that this film has a real sense of narrative and a real sense of stakes to it plus the film is well cast.
Both Neeson and Harris equip themselves well and I liked watching them both together, Kinnaman is fine but not memorable as the troubled son while Vincent D'Onofrio (who I swear looks like our current Treasurer Joe Hockey but 20 years older) was nice to watch again and Nick Nolte made me cringe with his grizzled speaking that just made me think "He's turning into a Wookiee"
And so that was Run All Night which I actually liked more than I thought I would but still I wouldn't rush off to the cinemas to see it, 2 out of 5.
I have to say going into this film that I was not very keen primarily because with the exception of the first Taken film Neeson's action career has failed to impress ever since but this film added Ed Harris who is one of my favorite actors so hope was kindled for this film.
And nicely that hope wasn't let down as I thought that this was the first Neeson running and shooting and growling and shouting into his Mobile Phone going "I will find you and I will kill you" action picture since Taken to impress me and the reason here is that this film has a real sense of narrative and a real sense of stakes to it plus the film is well cast.
Both Neeson and Harris equip themselves well and I liked watching them both together, Kinnaman is fine but not memorable as the troubled son while Vincent D'Onofrio (who I swear looks like our current Treasurer Joe Hockey but 20 years older) was nice to watch again and Nick Nolte made me cringe with his grizzled speaking that just made me think "He's turning into a Wookiee"
And so that was Run All Night which I actually liked more than I thought I would but still I wouldn't rush off to the cinemas to see it, 2 out of 5.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Film Review - Love, Rosie (2014)
Love, Rosie stars Sam Claflin (Finnick from the Hunger Games) as Alex a man who is childhood friends with Rosie (Lily Collins) and the film follows their time together as well as their own adventures along the road of life.
Hmmm, it saddens me to say this but I was disappointed by this movie mainly because I really liked Claflin and Collins as a pair, the two have a very nice chemistry in their scenes together and both are very appealing to watch.
But sadly the film around them just didn't interest me very much and in the case of Collins's character I just found it difficult to buy that that would happen to her, what this could have been is a fun little "When Harry met Sally" type film for 90 minutes or so and that would have been okay with me even if it would have been predictable with a capital P but I probably would've gone that it was fine if nothing spectacular but alas the film that it is just very "so what, I don't care" and I just didn't find it that interesting.
Which is a shame as I was looking forward to seeing this film and what Claflin had up his sleeve after the Hunger Games (he should've been the new Tarzan with Margot Robbie but he isn't a star like Alexander Skarsgaard is which is a shame) so sadly I can't say that I recommend this film, rent When Harry met Sally instead, 1.5 out of 5.
Hmmm, it saddens me to say this but I was disappointed by this movie mainly because I really liked Claflin and Collins as a pair, the two have a very nice chemistry in their scenes together and both are very appealing to watch.
But sadly the film around them just didn't interest me very much and in the case of Collins's character I just found it difficult to buy that that would happen to her, what this could have been is a fun little "When Harry met Sally" type film for 90 minutes or so and that would have been okay with me even if it would have been predictable with a capital P but I probably would've gone that it was fine if nothing spectacular but alas the film that it is just very "so what, I don't care" and I just didn't find it that interesting.
Which is a shame as I was looking forward to seeing this film and what Claflin had up his sleeve after the Hunger Games (he should've been the new Tarzan with Margot Robbie but he isn't a star like Alexander Skarsgaard is which is a shame) so sadly I can't say that I recommend this film, rent When Harry met Sally instead, 1.5 out of 5.
Film Review - Internal Affairs (1990)
Internal Affairs stars Richard Gere as Dennis Peck a cop who is seen by the Internal Affairs department to be dirty and Raymond Avila (Andy Garcia) is determined to get to the bottom of it.
This was a very boring thriller to sit through but it is well performed with Garcia excellently anchoring the film in both his quiet and more temperamental moments, Nancy Travis also turns in a good performance and I liked seeing Richard Bradford from the Untouchables in a small role also plus the film has some excellent cinematography by veteran John Alonso with dark grainy scenes at night and bold colours really leaving an impression on me.
But by goodness did this film despite its 2 hour length just drag on and on and on as it went along and while I normally like Gere I just found it very hard to buy him as a villain in this film plus the events get more and more predictable as they go on and I just kept going "that's gonna happen, that's gonna happen, that's gonna happen" and sure enough they all did and as a result I ended up caring even less about what happened.
And so that was Internal Affairs where good performances and cinematography could not save a boring and predictable thriller, 1 out of 5.
This was a very boring thriller to sit through but it is well performed with Garcia excellently anchoring the film in both his quiet and more temperamental moments, Nancy Travis also turns in a good performance and I liked seeing Richard Bradford from the Untouchables in a small role also plus the film has some excellent cinematography by veteran John Alonso with dark grainy scenes at night and bold colours really leaving an impression on me.
But by goodness did this film despite its 2 hour length just drag on and on and on as it went along and while I normally like Gere I just found it very hard to buy him as a villain in this film plus the events get more and more predictable as they go on and I just kept going "that's gonna happen, that's gonna happen, that's gonna happen" and sure enough they all did and as a result I ended up caring even less about what happened.
And so that was Internal Affairs where good performances and cinematography could not save a boring and predictable thriller, 1 out of 5.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Film Review - Insurgent (2015)
Insurgent is the 2nd film in the Divergent series and again stars Shailene Woodley as Tris who with Four (Theo James) go on the run following the events of the first film but Jeanine (Kate Winslet) makes a critical discovery that could lead her government and the Factionless led by Evelyn (Naomi Watts) towards a war.
I did not have very high hopes going into this film mainly because I was not a big fan of the first Divergent film but I decided to go and give this 2nd film a chance in the hope it might do the same trick that the 2nd Hunger Games film Catching Fire did in 2013 in that I wasn't a big fan of the first film in that series (I've since come around) but the 2nd one left a strong impression on me, could lightning strike twice or was it a case of the one term wonder casting its spell?
Well it has to be a case (and a very strong one) of the former but while this film is far from terrible this film is also bland with a Capital B and that feeling of blandness permeates throughout the whole film, the storyline feels very routine with the magic Box and the one true person capable of opening it who is part of the Rebel forces, the action sequences feel very tired and flat (gotta get that PG-13 rating in the US or all of those teenage girls can't go and see the movie) and the performances all feel lifeless.
I mean you have some good talent here, Miles Teller (who looks an awful lot like a young John Cusack) wishes he was anywhere else in the world but there, Woodley just goes through the film in chains as when she tries to break out she's put back in the cage by the male leads, Watts and Winslet are given very little if anything to do apart from spout leadership dialogue and Ansel Elgort and Theo James are pretty much playing the part of the hunks.
And yet all I could think of was "Where is the Fire, the Heart and the Imagination of the Hunger Games Series" which to my mind was the series that reminded me of what it was like to be 11 years old and seeing Star Wars for the first time as well as combining the sense of satire and insight that Paul Verhoeven brought to his Sci-Fi work in the late 80s and 90s but alas all this is as well as the first film is a pale bland imitation and that fact is all over these films.
And so to close Insurgent is not a terrible film but it is so very bland to sit through that it just becomes boring by the end, 1.5 out of 5.
I did not have very high hopes going into this film mainly because I was not a big fan of the first Divergent film but I decided to go and give this 2nd film a chance in the hope it might do the same trick that the 2nd Hunger Games film Catching Fire did in 2013 in that I wasn't a big fan of the first film in that series (I've since come around) but the 2nd one left a strong impression on me, could lightning strike twice or was it a case of the one term wonder casting its spell?
Well it has to be a case (and a very strong one) of the former but while this film is far from terrible this film is also bland with a Capital B and that feeling of blandness permeates throughout the whole film, the storyline feels very routine with the magic Box and the one true person capable of opening it who is part of the Rebel forces, the action sequences feel very tired and flat (gotta get that PG-13 rating in the US or all of those teenage girls can't go and see the movie) and the performances all feel lifeless.
I mean you have some good talent here, Miles Teller (who looks an awful lot like a young John Cusack) wishes he was anywhere else in the world but there, Woodley just goes through the film in chains as when she tries to break out she's put back in the cage by the male leads, Watts and Winslet are given very little if anything to do apart from spout leadership dialogue and Ansel Elgort and Theo James are pretty much playing the part of the hunks.
And yet all I could think of was "Where is the Fire, the Heart and the Imagination of the Hunger Games Series" which to my mind was the series that reminded me of what it was like to be 11 years old and seeing Star Wars for the first time as well as combining the sense of satire and insight that Paul Verhoeven brought to his Sci-Fi work in the late 80s and 90s but alas all this is as well as the first film is a pale bland imitation and that fact is all over these films.
And so to close Insurgent is not a terrible film but it is so very bland to sit through that it just becomes boring by the end, 1.5 out of 5.
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