Film Review - The Intern (2015)

The Intern was written and directed by Nancy Meyers and stars Robert De Niro as Ben, an older man who answers a job placement ad regarding senior interns at the online Fashion company About the Fit which is run by Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway) who is pretty much doing 5 to 10 different things at once in her role, the two don't get along at first but that might change.

I had a good time at this movie I will say, it's a nice film, it's a sweet film but Meyers keeps a good hand on the whip and keeps the tone of it just right, De Niro is nice here and he seems to be having fun again doing a film there have been a few occasions where he has pretty much phoned it in and just wanted the cash but that doesn't seem to be the case here while Hathaway is very likeable here and for me I liked seeing her again.

Sadly however the film is too long at 2 hours and there are a couple of subplots in the film that could've easily been removed as they don't really add an awful lot to the film plus when they did come on it felt like a diversion from the main storyline of Jules and Ben but it was not as bad as in Trainwreck where I just wanted an editing machine to cut that film down to its 90 minutes and that's it.

And so that was the Intern, a nice film that I liked primarily because if you know people like Jules in real life then you will get what it is that they go through sometimes, 2 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - The Martian (2015)

The Martian is a new Sci-Fi film directed by Ridley Scott and scripted by Drew Goddard as well as being based off of the book by Andy Weir, the story here sees Mark Watley (Matt Damon) stranded on Mars after a dust storm but his crew (Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Michael Pena and Aksel Hennie) take off and leave for home but Mark is still alive and must now Science/Engineer the Shit out of surviving on the Red Planet while NASA and his crew work to Bring Him Home.

I've been really looking forward to this film primarily because it's a new Science Fiction film and it feels like a fair while since we had one but the last couple (Jupiter Ascending, Gravity and Interstellar amongst others) plus Ridley has dropped the ball a bit with Prometheus and most certainly The Counselor and Exodus Gods and Kings so the chances of him coming back are remote.

But he has come back boys and girls and this film is just terrific and the reasons are numerous:

- The first is Goddard's script which is extremely good and it wastes no time getting its central story underway plus he balances science/engineering/botany with humour and hope but most important of all a beating human heart something that both Gravity and Interstellar both lacked in a big way (those films had the scientific aspects and the visuals but not the human element to make them stand out like this does.)

And this script has really energized Sir Ridley in a way we haven't seen from him probably since Gladiator back in 2000 and his direction here is very good, keeping a very tight rein on the ship even when it threatens to wobble a little bit towards the end due to its lengthy running time (141 minutes) it makes me wish that A) THIS had been his return to Sci-Fi instead of Prometheus and B) That he would assign Goddard ASAP to Paradise Lost his next Alien film.

- The second is the performances, Damon is so good here that he should be getting an Oscar nomination as he anchors this film effortlessly with his performance and he just totally gets the vibe of the character, even thinking about this has made me think yet again about how much I missed Mel Gibson in Mad Max: Fury Road earlier this year as his return to that iconic role would have really given that film the anchor it desperately needed.

But that is then and this is now and Damon is very nicely backed up by Chastain, Mara (making up for her turn in Fantastic Four and getting the better of her sister Rooney who only appeared in Pan this year which was awful), Pena, Stan as well as Jeff Daniels, Mackenzie Davis, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean and Chiwetel Ejiofor and all of those people are very good also.

- And lastly the visuals and the music are also great whether it's the red wasteland of Mars or the very cool disco soundtrack peppered throughout the film but there's not much more to say other than those so I will leave that here.

And so that was the Martian, I think the best Sci-Fi film of the last 3 years and definitely one of my top films of the year, 4 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - Miss You Already (2015)

Miss You Already is directed by Catherine Hardwicke who is primarily known for directing the first Twilight film from 2008 and stars Toni Collette as Milly and Drew Barrymore as Jess, two women who have been lifelong friends until Milly finds out she has terminal cancer and her time with Jess and her family begins to run out.

Miss You Already is very much a classic chick flick weepie like Beaches from 1989 with Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey but I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and the main reason I feel this is the case is due to the chemistry between Barrymore and Collette, you really believe their friendship throughout the years and the turmoil and pressure its put under with Milly's cancer battle, Paddy Considine and Dominic Cooper are okay here but pretty much play the token husband roles.

And also the film is sad to watch and there were a fair few in my session wiping away tears as the film went on (even I felt moved by the film and I was the only male in my session) so take a box of tissues or a hanky to this one as you will probably need it.

And so that was Miss You Already, a well made weepie to see with some tissues and your best friend, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - Blinky Bill the Movie (2015)

Blinky Bill the Movie is the newest instalment of the character (played here by Ryan Kwanten) and is a new adventure not based off of the book series, the story here sees Blinky venturing out to the mythical Sea of White Dragons to find his long lost father (Richard Roxburgh) but this adventure could prove to be a tricky one to take.

I was a fan of the original Blinky Bill instalments from the 1990s first being the Yoram Gross film from 92 and later on the TV series which aired on the ABC so when I heard there was going to be a new film it was one that I immediately had to see just to know what it was like more than anything else.

And happily I was not disappointed as this was a fun animated adventure I thought, the first reason for this is the story itself it's not trying to repeat the Bart Simpson esque antics of the characters from the 90s and instead make him more of a likeable ol larrikin on the search for adventure, there is a fair amount of Australian lingo in the film and it adds to the charm of the piece.

The second reason is the performances, Kwanten throws his all into voicing Blinky and his enthusiasm easily caught on for me, I also liked Roxburgh in his role plus David Wenham, Barry Humphries, Barry Otto, Toni Collette and Rufus Sewell also pitch in good voice work here and you can tell they all had a good time working on this film.

Unfortunately I could also see why the film failed at the box office here in Australia and the reason I feel this has happened is that there is really no audience for this film, the people that know who Blinky is are people my age (children of the 90s essentially) and children today are so inundated with that sort of entertainment that they won't know who Blinky is, similar happened with the Tintin film from 2011, people my age knew of him but not kids today and as a result that film along with this one struggled to find an audience in cinemas.

And so that was Blinky Bill mate, a good fun family film (far too many animated productions these days are so emotionally heavy handed to the point of it feeling like blackmail or manipulation) with some good ol Dinki Di Aussie lingo and a sense of adventure, 3 out of 5.

On the Air Season 2 Episode 9 - The Age of the Dragon

Well folks here we are 2 new Radio episodes for your listening pleasure.

The films reviewed here are:

- Dragonball Z Resurrection F
- Straight Outta Compton
- A Walk in the Woods

- Oddball
- Shaun the Sheep
- The Age of Adaline

As always click on the streaming link in your browser or right click and save as to your Computer for those long trips on a Train or Bus or Plane or Even doing your Exercises.

The link to the first episode which covers the first 3 titles is here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/sa/2015/09/friday-flicks.html?site=southeastsa&program=south_east_mornings

And the link to the second episode which covers the second 3 group of titles is here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/sa/2015/10/friday-flicks-oddball-shawn-the-sheep-and-the-age-of-adeline.html?site=southeastsa&program=south_east_mornings

Film Review - Pan (2015)

Pan is a new telling of the Peter Pan legend and stars Levi Miller as young Peter orphaned in WW2 England but manages to escape on the ship of Pirate Captain Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman) whilst working in his mines he meets another orphan named Hook (Garrett Hedlund) and the two then set off on a great journey in this new world of Neverland.

Pan is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination but it is also a deathly boring film to sit through, possibly the most boring I've seen this year ahead of Tomorrowland and Ricki and the Flash and the reasons are numerous:

- The first is that the storyline itself feels so plodding and predictable that you just sit there bored out of your brain watching the film unfold and you also sit there wishing that you could just rewrite the bloody thing yourself I mean the story of Pan and Hook being friends could've been interesting I mean look at Xavier and Magneto in X-Men and indeed a film like X-Men First Class could've been somewhere to look in terms of finding an inspiration for this film but instead it plays out like a bad knockoff of Avatar and Harry Potter and it suffers hugely in comparison.

- The second is that the world of Neverland looks so dark and dreary here and that was not the case when I think back to the 1951 Walt Disney version of Peter Pan, it was bright and colourful and cheery whereas here it all looks cheap for a start with some pretty average CG work and small scale sets (hell the mines reminded me of Immortan Joe's citadel from Mad Max Fury Road) and again after a while I just got bored looking at it all.

- And lastly the performances are dull as all Smeg to watch, I love Jackman and I love Rooney Mara who plays Tiger Lily but both of them are horribly wasted in their roles, Hugh plays Blackbeard as a cross between Ramirez from Highlander and Immortan Joe from Mad Max Fury Road and Mara is reduced to the token Warrior Woman, Miller does Peter with a really cheesy British Accent while Hedlund tries to make Hook into an Indiana Jones type Adventurer but just grates after a while.

And so that was Pan, a film I cannot recommend you spend your money to go and see and indeed whilst watching it myself I wished I was watching the new Blinky Bill movie, Sicario and/or Dragon Ball Z Resurrection F instead, 1 out of 5.

Film Review - Oddball (2015)

Oddball is an Australian film that takes place in the South West Victorian town of Warrnambool and concens Chicken Farmer Swampy (Shane Jacobson) who's mischevious Dog Oddball causes a lot of damage in town but one night after rescuing a local penguin from a Fox (Foxes have been hunting the Penguins on the Island Sanctuary they call Home) Oddball scares off the Fox and Swampy gets an idea.

Despite it taking place in the area I myself call home, Oddball is sadly just another run of the mill kids film that will probably work best for 4 to 6 year olds but I doubt older children or their parents for that matter will be all that interested in it as it is very light hearted and at times it has its charms but it also didn't really hold my attention beyond the first 2 acts of the film.

And the reason for this I feel is that the story here gets pretty predictable as it goes on and by the time the 3rd act came around I began to get a little bit bored with it all including its really silly ending, Jacobson is a fine everyman here but he is doing a lot of that work himself, Sarah Snook again is okay, Deborah Mailman was nice to see here in a small role and Alan Tudyk pretty much played the token American we see in a fair few Aussie films.

I wish I could be more enthusiastic about this movie but seeing the places I visit every week on the cinema screen (and indeed in the very place it was filmed) just wasn't enough for me to pile this into the straightforward kids film pile, good for the younger kids but older kids might be wise to see the Maze Runner: Scorch Trials or Pan instead, 2 out of 5.