Film Review - Immortals (2011)

Immortals is directed by Tarsem Singh who directed the 2000 film the Cell which starred Jennifer Lopez, here the story concerns Thesius (Henry Cavill, the new Superman), a man of questionable parental heritage in a time where the Gods watch over the Earth, but the evil Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) seeks a powerful weapon called the Epirus Bow which could shake the land asunder and alter the balance of power.

I went into Immortals with very low expectations, having not really enjoyed the remake of Clash of the Titans or 300 very much, with that how did I find this one?

Well, let’s just say I’m of two minds on this film, to be fair it has some very impressive visuals, the sets, costumes and visual effects are all quite good and do make you go “that looks pretty neat” especially the costumes which are beautifully detailed and to look at.

But sadly this movie has both a boring and silly storyline, everything from this movie feels like a rip off of both Clash of the Titans and 300 and the finale is right out of Lord of the Rings, Cavill is okay but he will have to far better than this if he is to succeed as Superman, Rourke is pathetic as Hyperion as all he does is mumble his lines like in Iron Man 2 and eat a lot of fruit and as for john Hurt well he’s John Hurt so I can’t complain.

But as I said, nothing in this movie apart from its visuals got me and its silly finale ripped right out of the Lord of the Rings sunk it, not to mention its pointless bloody violence, yes Pinta Freido and Isabel Lucas look beautiful in some of their costumes but frankly so would any woman, Thumbs way down for this movie, 1 out of 5.

Film Review - Mirror, Mirror (2012)

Mirror, Mirror is the first of two Snow White movies to be released this year, the other being Snow White and the Huntsman, this one is directed by Tarsem Singh and stars Julia Roberts as the evil queen who locks up Snow White (Lily Collins from Abduction), one day she escapes and comes across not only a fair prince (Armie Hammer) but also seven little dwarves.

I went into Mirror, Mirror with low expectations mainly because Singh’s last film Immortals didn’t do much for me at all but when I heard that Alan Menken was to compose the score for the film, I was more interested, with that how did I find it?

Surprisingly I really enjoyed the movie, it was lovely, charming and at times quite funny, Collins was very warm and engaging to watch even if she looked like a young Anne Hathaway and is worlds apart from the little girl we saw in Abduction then again she’s given actual script material to work with here but she isn’t alone I also liked Hammer as the prince and the actors that played the dwarves played off each other very well, Nathan Lane also did a good job in his role.

Though the weak spot was Roberts as the Queen, she was okay but far too often went over the top and at those times I kind of groaned, the film also had some beautiful costumes by the late Eiko Ishioka and Singh puts his famous visual stamp on the film, as for Menken’s score well I loved it, the score is very inspired by his scores for the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast and at times you could hear Part of your World from Mermaid.

So overall, I really liked Mirror, Mirror and I do think its worth seeing, 3 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - The Lorax (2012)

The Lorax is based off a Dr. Seuss novel and has the voices of Danny Devito, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift and Betty White, the story here is that the town of Thneedville grows artificial trees, a young boy named Ted (Efron) wants to impress a girl named Audrey (Swift) to do this he must find a real tree, which leads to a tale of a time now past.

I went into the Lorax with middle of the road expectations mainly because Dr. Seuss books have not had a stellar track record on the big screen but this looked like fun so was it much fun or was it more glum?

Well, its more like somewhere in the middle, I thought Danny Devito was great as the Lorax, he brings a lot of heart and good natured humour to his role and the film works best in his scenes, outside of him the film suffers big time, the comedy doesn’t work as well, the heart wanders, White just makes you think “Why is she in this movie, she’s too good for her role?” and the message of the film got lost to the young looking boy wanting to impress a girl, which is a shame.

Oh and I also liked the animation style of the film and the numerous Seuss-isms scattered throughout.

But all in all, Devito saves this from being a really boring family film, young kids will like it but the grown ups might look at their watch every now and then, 2 out of 5.

Film Review - Wrath of the Titans (2012)

Wrath of the Titans is the follow up to the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans, Sam Worthington reprise his role as Perseus, the half son of the mighty god Zeus (Liam Neeson) who is betrayed by Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Aries who wish to release the Titan Kronos.

Wrath of the Titans to be frank was Relentless and Boring to watch, so much of this movie could be spoofed into one of those old Batman episodes from the 1960’s as so much of it is BANG! CRASH! BOOM! WHACK! KAPOW! BURN! SLASH! HACK! GROWL! and on and on it goes, there is really no plot here at all and director Jonathan Liebesman films this as if he’s combined the climax of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and the artistic style of 300 and boy do you feel dazed and confused while watching it.

But with that also came a sense of sadness as 4 excellent actors are in this movie, Neeson, Fiennes, Rosamund Pike and Bill Nighy, all of them do okay but they just feel wasted in their roles as they are capable of so much more than the banging and clanging and the hacking and the slashing and the ow, ow, ow it hurts a glavin.

In short, please don’t see this movie, keep the ticket and candy bar money in your pocket, use it to do something for someone you love or a family member or a friend who might be celebrating their birthday, something that puts a smile on your face and makes you think that life’s a happy song when there’s someone by your side to sing along, 1 out of 5.

Film Review - John Carter of Mars (2012)

John Carter of Mars stars Taylor Kitsch as John Carter, a former Confederate Army Officer who is hunting for caves of Gold, one day he finds one only to then be transported to the planet of Barsoom otherwise known as Mars, there he will find a new destiny.

When I heard about this film I was excited to see it mainly due to a near complete lack of Science Fiction films in the current film market so I went to see it as soon as I could, with that how did I find the film coming out of the cinema after it ended?

Well, let me say that it’s not terrible, mainly due to some nice effects work and editing, you always get a sense of where the action is happening and who is fighting who to a certain extent and there’s always a stable camera to follow the action, I also liked Willem Dafoe and Mark Strong in their medium sized roles.

But sadly, this film has no sense of a storyline or screenplay at all and you sit there feeling very confused in regards to what the movie is about, it’s as if director Andrew Stanton is putting this movie together with storyboards instead of writing an actual script which tells a good story and not just use the story as an excuse to just move the audience along to the next big battle sequence which are in and of themselves well done but come to dominate the movie at the story’s expense.

So all in all, its a weird blending of Avatar, Attack of the Clones and the Outlaw Josey Wales, frankly you would be best of renting Avatar and watching that film instead of this one, for all its faults at least has some form of storyline to it and is directed by someone that when it comes to this sort of sci fi spectacular actually knows what they’re doing, 1 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - The Hunger Games (2012)

The Hunger Games is based off the successful novel by Suzanne Collins who also has an executive producer role and partially wrote the script and is directed by Gary Ross, who worked the Tom Hanks film Big in 1988, the story here is that the US is now divided up into districts and each year two from each are chosen to participate in the Hunger Games, where two dozen enter but only one person leaves.

I went into Hunger Games with moderate levels of expectations, not being all that familiar with the source material and it looking a lot like the 1988 film the Running Man which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, with that did it rise or did it fall?

Well, it fell big time, frankly I was bored throughout most of this movie mainly because the story being told A) Didn’t explain its backstory very well and B) So much of it felt like the same old broken record playing that same old tune again about the post apocalyptic death sport whether it was Running Man, Turkey Shoot or Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

And as if that wasn’t enough, the action scenes felt like they were edited in a blender, seriously you could not tell what was going on at all during the fights and speaking of which, it’s said the original book has quite violent battles between the contestants here the film doesn’t show anything at all, no doubt to get the rating down to a PG-13 in America, an M15+ in Australia and a 12A in the UK and there you have it folks, a key part of the story toned down to drag in the Harry Potter and Twilight audiences so they can deliver the next big book to screen box office smash, pathetic.

Oh and another thing, I hated that phrase “May the odds be ever in your favour” every single time someone said that I just cringed and thought of Han Solo in the Asteroid Field from the Empire Strikes Back where C-3PO tells him that the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1 and Han replies “Never tell me the odds” Just once, I wanted someone to say that, was it that hard.

Really?

(Cricket noises)

Thought so.

Okay moving on, there was one thing I did like about this movie and that is Jennifer Lawrence, she is fantastic in the lead role and you see cold, steely eyed determination to survive as well as some real personal grit, a terrific central performance that towers over the rest of the cast, even Liam Hemsworth and Donald Sutherland who looks more like Gandalf the White and Hemsworth having far too little screen time.

All in all, the odds weren’t in this film’s favour but then again so aren’t the odds of surviving a direct assault from an Imperial Star Destroyer also, Lawrence is terrific and its the only reason this gets 2 out of 5, she’s simply that good.

Film Review - Chaplin (1992)

Chaplin is directed by Richard Attenborough and is a biopic concerning the life and times of Sir Charles Chaplin, played here by Robert Downey Jr and concerns his upbringing in the UK, his iconic career and his darker side that cost him dearly.

Chaplin is a fascinating biopic that dares to dig deep into the psyche of the man through the use of a fictional character played by Anthony Hopkins, there are a number of terrific performances also with Hopkins, Diane Lane, Kevin Kline, James Woods and even Geraldine Chaplin pops up in a small role as well as David Duchovny and John Thau.

But this movie belongs to one man and its Downey Jr, simply put its an outstanding performance as Chaplin himself, a performance of both mind and body and right away you forget your seeing an actor in this role, how pleasing it is that Downey got it all back on track and the world can continue to enjoy his talent for many years to come.

All in all, film buffs the world over should take it upon themselves to see this film if they haven't already, you won't regret it, 3 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - The Mean Season (1985)

The Mean Season stars Kurt Russell as Malcolm Anderson, a reporter for the Miami Journal who is wanting to leave and head to Colorado to become the managing editor of a newspaper there and live with his girlfriend Christine (Mariel Hemingway) but one last story concering a numbers killer played by Richard Jordan could also prove to be his deadliest.

Okay, I have to say this but I was very letdown with the Mean Season, the trailer promised a hard hitting thriller and instead we get a muddled, boring and predictable thriller that isn’t really all that thrilling, Hemingway comes out of it the best in regards to the three main cast members as she actually does try to do something with her character rather than the standard “HAYLP HAYLP” heroine it could’ve easily became.

But what’s worst about this movie is this and this is a twofold response:

1. Both Russell and Jordan are wasted big time in their roles, Russell just projects a feeling of being bored throughout the whole film and as a result his performance feels completely flat and as for Jordan my god he comes across as so cartoonish he could be the precursor to Heath Ledger’s Joker I mean seriously some of his lines feel like “Are you the Real Batman?” and “People will die, I’m a man of my world, WA HEHEHEHAHAHAHA” and if that wasn’t enough some of the murder scenes could easily have “HA HA HA HA HA” written in them.

2. The second half of my problem is the ending, mainly as it’s that tried and true cliché of the killer that you think is dead but magically reappears for one last shot at our hero, this may sound like a minor spoiler but this has been done time and time again and when I saw it happen in this movie I had to hit myself on the head as I REALLY REALLY REALLY hate it when that happens and its even good movies like Misery that have it happen and boy does it get my goat Every. Single. Time.

But yet there was one thing I did like about this movie, shocking I know but hey there’s always a light in our darkest hour and that was the music score by Lalo Schifrin, a veteran composer best known for such work as the Dirty Harry series and the theme for the original Mission Impossible TV series, Schifrin’s score brings a sense of energy and excitement and real feeling to a movie that misses all three of those elements.

All in all, skip this as its an average murder mystery that’s also boring and predictable, .5 out of 5.

Film Review - Drive (2011)

Drive stars Ryan Gosling as the Driver, that’s his name and that’s what he does, stunt driving in Los Angeles as well as on the side for other ends, one such mission involves his next door neighbour, a young mother played by Carey Mulligan and things begin to change.

I must say that I really enjoyed Drive, director Nic Refn does a great job in the captain’s chair but he isn’t alone, its beautifully shot by Tom Siegel, has a great soundtrack put together by Cliff Martinez and the film has the feel of a 1980’s Music Video.

To be precise, this film could’ve easily come out in 1986 or 1987 and it would’ve slotted right into that decade, the film also has a strong influence of directors like Michael Mann and Russell Mulcahy and films like Mad Max 2, The Terminator, Razorback and Heat, silly comparisons I know but they were what I was reminded of.

But that’s not all folks, the film also has a real star making performance by Gosling, already well known for his role in such films as the Notebook and Blue Valentine, this should be the role that makes him a star, he’s simply that good though so is Albert Brooks as one of the mob bosses, after seeing him in this movie you’ll start thinking twice about making a false idol of Brad Goodman.

All in all, a film that was worth the wait to see, 3 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2012)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an English language version of the Swedish film and is directed by David Fincher, the story here is that Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is hired by an old man Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) to solve a decades old murder mystery that involved a member of his family, meanwhile we meet Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) a strong independent woman who hacks Blomkvist's laptop which leads him to her and the mystery begins.

I was really looking forward to seeing this as I do like Craig, Plummer and Mara as actors and it felt like the kind of film that I want to see, a proper grown up film with an adult sensibility, not something for 2-16 year olds that dominate just about every screen on the planet nowadays, no siree this one was for grownups and it had an intriguing story to it, with that how did I find it?

Well happy to say that I really enjoyed it, it was a great story, well told with some terrific performances, Mara is mesmerising as Lisbeth and carries the film very well, its hard to take your eyes off her as she goes about her business and in some scenes there is a sense of satisfaction as she gives the audience a payoff they’ve been waiting for.

But that’s not all, Craig is also very good as are Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard (one of my favourite actors), Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright and Joely Richardson all of whom also performed very well in their roles, Fincher was a good choice for director and he directs the film well, Jeff (son of Blade Runner DP Jordan) Cronenweth lit the film beautifully, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross did a great score and Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall did some great editing, highly deserving of their Oscar win.

Overall, probably one of my favourite films in a long time, was well worth the wait, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - Sherlock Holmes a Game of Shadows (2012)

Sherlock Holmes a Game of Shadows picks up where the 2009 Sherlock film left off and again sees Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson once more, but this time they face off against the diabolical Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), a genius as good as Holmes if not better, the game's afoot.

I went into this new Sherlock film with a slightly mixed bag of expectations, having not really had much thought for its predecessor save for its rather dashing leads, nevertheless I was undeterred to see this film because of that fact, how did the game proceed this time one must wonder?

Well it is of a surprise that I kind of enjoyed this new adventure, mainly because this time the focus was more on the relationship between Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson, something that was sadly relegated to the side lines last time, but not this time dear reader, this time they're front and centre and they're scenes are as good as ever.

But even the greatest of men cannot live without two undeniable facts; a dastardly fiend to test their very limits and strength and foibles which such fowl beasts can use to exploit them, here Mr. Harris equips himself well and his scenes with Downey are ever so good but while the first half of their adventure was riveting, the 2nd was slightly unbalanced, not sure whether to tone down its frenetic action or not, a classic foil in many a film one would say for sure.

But regardless of this, this new adventure was rather fun, more so than the last, hopefully more are just around the bend, 3 out of 5.