Film Review - This Means War (2012)

This Means War stars Chris Pine and Tom Hardy and FDR and Tuck, two CIA agents who are best friends and partners in the field, until they find out that they are dating the same woman, Lauren Scott (Reese Witherspoon), from there rivalry breaks out.

I went into this movie with very low expectations as the trailer made it look really bad but I decided to go and see it as I like Hardy and Pine, with that how was it?

Well, to be frank it was plain and simple bad, and I don't that it was terrible or unfunny or parts of it weren't that good, no it was a bad film full stop, it was dull to watch, the jokes weren't funny and Hardy, Pine and Rosemary Harris should've stayed FAR FAR away from this awful script that throws two separate storylines together and tries to mesh them together all the while failing miserably at this task as the two stories feel very much like that and Witherspoon is not funny at all and was also really really annoying.

But what feels worse is this: The film's overall treatment of its women characters, instead resorting to bad stereotypes that I thought we got over years ago, Witherspoon's character is a lot like Natalie Portman's in Thor: A strong, independent and resourceful woman that turns to jelly over A) The Big Strong man with the Big Muscles and B) The Charismatic Man in the sharp suit though missing the slightly furry face, for gods sake can we please move on from these bad stereotypes, it gives movies a bad name and rarely if ever work at all.

There was however one thing I did like from this movie and that is it made me want to see the rumoured Jack Ryan reboot with Pine at the helm, he looked and sounded the part and was more in the Alec Baldwin mould when he played the character in the Hunt for Red October, lets hope that gets off the ground soon.

Overall, bad stereotypes, unfunny comedy and bad action make this a failure with a capital F, hopefully Hardy puts this behind him and blows us all away as Bane in "The Fire Rises" later this year, for now skip this turd for "It Stinks", 1 out of 5.

Film Review - Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991)

Showdown in Little Tokyo stars Dolph Lundgren as Kenner, a cop in Los Angeles who was raised in Japan but saw his parents murdered at a young age, since then he has lived in the US, one day he is assigned a partner played by the late Brandon Lee as they investigate a new drug in the area.

Showdown in Little Tokyo was actually surprisingly good fun, a nice reminder of the B movie exploitation fare that we don't see a lot of these days, mainly due to most movies relying on huge budgets and time and money consuming computer graphics, Lundgren and Lee play off each other rather well and deliver some nice wisecracks that set them apart from the killing machine's they might have been in different hands, Lee also has some surprising charisma, it's a sad shame he died as young as he did as he might have made a likeable action star had he lived.

All in all, Showdown in Little Tokyo is fun B movie fare that does its primary job nicely, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - Crazy Stupid Love (2011)

Crazy, Stupid, Love stars Steve Carell and Julianne Moore as Cal and Emily, a couple married for 25 years when Emily announces during dinner one night that she wants a divorce, this devastates Cal and he comes across a man named Jacob (Ryan Gosling), everything changes.

You know, I went into Crazy, Stupid, Love with low expectations as I had heard very good reviews and also I'm not that big of a rom com fan, I love When Harry met Sally... but that would be about it, with that how did I find the film?

To my surprise I actually kinda liked it, well parts of it, mainly those to do with Carell and Moore who have great chemistry, their scenes are sincere and they're a pleasure to watch whenever they come on screen during the movie.

Sadly however, the film overcrowds them with a few too many characters, namely the 17 year old babysitter, the English teacher played by Marisa Tomei and the other wheel played by Kevin Bacon, their characters were unnecessary and the character Gosling plays got really annoying after a while, apart from Carell and Moore I also liked Emma Stone who did a great job but she has shown this before with Easy A and proves once again how good she is despite her far too limited screen time.

All in all, some good performances help to overcome a slightly unbalanced rom com but hey its better than most out there so you can't complain, 2 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - Proof (1991)

Proof stars Hugo Weaving as Martin, a blind man who is looked after by his housekeeper Celia (Genevieve Picot) and has a guide dog named Bill, one day while eating out he comes across one of the dishwashers who works there named Andy (Russell Crowe) and he finds someone in which to trust.

Trust actually is a key theme of this film as Martin is blind so he relies on people to tell him the truth about what they see as he cannot with his own eyes, this movie I thought was a terrific Aussie drama with a great sense of pace, 3 terrific performances in the shape of Weaving, Crowe and Pucot and a great storyline that in all honesty almost had me in tears as I found it to be very moving.

One part I also liked was the use of the camera, Martin uses this so that he has a photo of what he senses but others see with their own eyes, I also liked the use of trust and truth as the film's key themes, it's a very subtle film and writer/director Jocelyn Moorhouse deserves huge kudos for pulling it off with ease.

All in all, this is a great drama and if you haven't seen it already, you should, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - Colombiana (2011)

Colombiana is the latest production by Luc Besson, best known for such films as Subway, The Big Blue and the Fifth Element, here he tells the tale of Catalina (Zoe Saldana) a young Colombian girl who sees her parents murdered and then escapes to America and grows up to be a professional assassin so she can exact her revenge.

You know, I like Zoe Saldana very much and I really liked Besson's 2008 production Taken with Liam Neeson but this one felt really, really dull mainly because unlike Taken which had a great central performance by Neeson and a clean and clear narrative structure, this movie doesn't have any sense of narrative at all and even the films action scenes get boring after a while, I can't believe that this was the same actress that poured her heart and soul into Neytiri in Avatar could pretty much phone it in here, what a waste of a great talent.

So in closing, go and rent Taken instead, its cheaper, you'll get more value for money and you'll have a great time, what more can you ask for, 1 out of 5.

Film Review - War Horse (2011)

War Horse is the 2nd film by Steven Spielberg to be released with his Tintin adaptation, the story here concerns Albert (Jeremy Irvine) who comes across a horse he names Joey, but when war breaks out with Germany the horse is sold to a sergeant (Tom Hiddleston), and from there the Horse goes on an adventure across a war torn battefield.

Okay I went into War Horse with mixed expectations as I had heard both good and bad reviews for the film, so with that how I did I find it?

Well there's good and there's bad, first off I'll start with the good and that is the performance by Tom Hiddelston, he brings a lot of heart to his role and makes up for his role in Thor, where his Loki was the weak link of that film, I also liked John Williams's score in places.

But the score also sums up my middle of the road feelings regarding the movie, for while I thought it was okay, I also thought it was very problematic for two reasons:

1. The Length: The film is way way too long, its 150 minutes and boy do you feel the length at times, especially near the film's ending, there were numerous times during that last section that I checked my watch waiting for it to end.

2. The Script: yes folks, the film's script by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis feels very episodic, part of me felt this story would work better as a mini series in the style of Band of Brothers or the Pacific, as it would've allowed better development of the human characters who play second fiddle to the horse.

So all in all, I didn't hate War Horse but its too flawed for me to recommend, 2 out of 5.

FIlm Review - The Muppets (2012)

This new movie regarding the Muppets is the brain of writer/actor Jason Segel, himself a big Muppets fan and the story in this film regards his character Gary, his Muppet brother Walter and his girlfriend of 10 years Mary (Amy Adams) heading to Los Angeles and while there they learn of a plan to demolish the old Muppets studios to drill for oil and with that its time to play the music and time to light the lights.

Okay, I went into the Muppets not being a fan of them originally, probably a good way to start but I saw it was playing and decided to go, with that how did I find the film?

To my complete delight, the film is simply wonderful, wearing its heart on its sleeve at all times but revelling in it and not bordering on schamltzyness or cheesiness, it feels nicely moderated and I had no idea Segel had such a heartfelt and warm film in him.

But wait there's more, the film also has a smart script that handles its "breaking the 4th wall" aspect very cleverly, Segel and Adams have really nice chemistry and speaking of Adams, she is note perfect in this movie and despite the absence of original Frank Oz, the new voices feel nicely done and you don't miss his contribution at all.

But I have to talk about the songs, namely two "Life's a Happy Song" which opens and closes the film and is very good but my favourite has to be "The Rainbow Connection" from the original Muppet movie, wonderful to hear again and I couldn't help but start to cry a little when I heard it in the cinema.

And lastly, there is a Toy Story cartoon before the film regarding a support group for discarded happy meal toys and a 3 inch Buzz Lightyear who swaps places with him, this like the film itself is very well done and I hope that a DVD of the Toy Story toons will be released soon.

All in all, seek out the Rainbow Connection and take the family to this movie, its a wonderful experience for young and old and smuggle a hanky in your pocket, I can't recommend this movie enough, 5 out of 5.