Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince: Movie Review
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael
Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Robbie Coltrane
Director: David Yates
I have a confession to make - I've never been a fan of the cinematic versions
of the Harry Potter films; granted I've read all but the last two of the saga
(yes, I am one of the few who doesn't yet know how it ends - and at the moment,
I'm comfortable with that) but for some reason (mainly the slightly childlike
direction of the earlier films and the inexperience of the actors) I have never
been wowed by the whole Potter experience.
So, it was with some dread that I went into the cinema for this one - because
whatever a reviewer says, it's just not going to stop the Potter behemoth at the
box office - some flicks are critic proof.
But enough of that - on with the latest in the Harry Potter franchise.
Dark forces are gathering over the wizarding world in Harry Potter and the
Half Blood Prince - Harry's back for his sixth year at Hogwarts- and it seems
Lord Voldemort's rise to power is inevitable.
Upon Harry's return to school, he finds a potions book from the Half Blood
Prince and is tasked by Dumbledore to look into the past of one Tom Riddle (aka
You Know Who) to try and find a way to defeat him.
But life's never that simple for Mr Potter - throw into the mix Draco
Malfoy's skulking about Hogwarts, adolescence and girl problems - and squabbles
of jealousy between Ron and Hermione - and you've got a potent mix.
There's much to admire in this latest outing - finally, it's starting to feel
like a more adult version of Harry Potter - and one which has a much wider
appeal for viewers.
Yes, there will be those who feel there are many plot points left out in the
latest rendition - the final books are bigger in tome than previous ones.
There's an obviously evident turn towards a much darker feel in the Half
Blood Prince - the whole atmosphere is painted with greys, blacks and whites -
there's very little colour on the screen during the 150 minutes.
One scene involving a confrontation between two characters in the dark, ends
with one of them saturated in blood - because of the darkness throughout, this
vivid burst of colour onto the screen is shocking.
And it's this sense of foreboding and doom and gloom, which saturate this
film, which is greatly welcomed.
There's also a distinct lack of blockbuster style action - unless you count
kissing (of which there's plenty) - and a lot more brooding and less of Ron
Weasly's gurning.
The trio of young actors (Radcliffe, Grint and Watson) acquit themselves
reasonably with the weightier material - but this film belongs squarely to Jim
Broadbent's Professor Slughorn (the obligatory new teacher to Hogwarts) and the
mawkish mournfulness of Michael Gambon's Dumbledore.
This is also the first Potter film I've felt actually accurately conveyed the
highs and lows of the wizarding world - thanks to some truly majestic camera
swoops, we see all walks of life at Hogwarts - from Malfoy lurking, to Ron
kissing and into the distance; it's a stunning turn of direction from David
Yates.
Coupled with a truly evocative and beautiful score, this is the Potter which
has pitched it perfectly.
That's not to say there aren't some off moments - the plot (as it is) is
quite strung out and there could have been some more expeditious editing to cut
the film's length - some younger fans may be found shuffling in their seats.
But when it comes to Potter, the true fans are happy to be immersed in
Harry's world - and don't care if the film is long, or drawn out in places -
with the series now just two films away from finishing, they (understandably)
need their fix.
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Bruno: Movie Review
Bruno: Movie Review
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten
Director: Larry Charles
Unless you've been living on the moon, chances are you'll have heard all about Bruno.
Thanks to the endless barrage of recent publicity, there can't be anyone who's not witnessed Sacha Baron Cohen's gay Austrian fashionista in some form or another.
But under all the constant hype, there is a film out there - following on from the shock and awe(some) tactics of Cohen's last outing on screen as Borat, there really wasn't any other character left in his repertoire outside of Bruno.
Basically, in this cinematic outing, following a major faux pas at an Austrian fashion show, Bruno finds himself blacklisted from the scene.
In a move not too dissimilar to Borat, he heads to America to achieve fame.
And that's it for the plot (such as it is).
What Bruno is, on the surface, is a collection of real life sketches (some feeling a little false and staged in places it must be said) as Sacha Baron Cohen's alter ego pushes it as far as he can go while interacting with the "real people."
However, like Borat, Bruno succeeds by bringing the worst out in people as they either bow to political correctness or hang themselves by displaying bigoted beliefs - cue many awkward pauses from those who are caught out.
While Borat was at times, squirm inducing, Bruno is likely to shock and offend a lot of people - with plenty of graphic sex jokes, without wanting to sound like a prude, it's not going to be to everyone's taste.
Bruno succeeds in, once again, reveling in pockets of American life which are uncomfortable with some of the modern day gay lifestyle - which isn't really anything new or original.
In fact it's fair to say there is a certain frisson of disappointment that it follows same pattern as Borat - foreigner in America, seeking fame and on a road trip - and pushing people into uncomfortable situations.
But it's also fair to say at times, this is very, very funny, irreverent, scabrous and obscene.
In some of the more amusing moments, Bruno finds himself trying to negotiate peace in the middle East; stripped of his child during an appearance on an American chat show and beaten at a swingers' party.
While poking fun at the celebrity culture and penchant for adopting African children is nothing new, Baron Cohen does it very well and manages to steal a lot of humour from people's reactions to his clearly inflammatory behaviour.
The most shocking part of the film though comes from the public.
Once again it's a real eye opener to see what people will do when the spotlight's turned on them - witness how far American parents will go to get their babies a job in ad; how uneducated some of those in the charity business are and how bigoted some religious people can be.
The producers must have been rubbing their hands with glee as they watched what people would say when the cameras are turned on&
Sacha Baron Cohen clearly has pushed it as far as he can go - witness being pursued in the Middle East because of one of his outfits; meeting with a terrorist to try and achieve fame via kidnapping; his (brief) interview with Harrison Ford is hilarious - there really is nowhere else left for him to go with the celebrity interviewer.
Baron Cohen needs praise though for his quick thinking - he's clearly lived the characters for so long that he knows exactly what they'd do in certain situations - and how to achieve maximum humour and discomfort for those in the firing line.
But on the evidence of Bruno, he's clearly had a lot of fun perverting opinions and subverting attitudes - there are a lot of belly laughs to be had in truly unexpected places. It's a slightly uneven film overall with the various situations sown together on a very thin thread - and it never really achieves the irreverent highs of Borat.
It'll be very interesting to see what he chooses to do next.
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten
Director: Larry Charles
Unless you've been living on the moon, chances are you'll have heard all about Bruno.
Thanks to the endless barrage of recent publicity, there can't be anyone who's not witnessed Sacha Baron Cohen's gay Austrian fashionista in some form or another.
But under all the constant hype, there is a film out there - following on from the shock and awe(some) tactics of Cohen's last outing on screen as Borat, there really wasn't any other character left in his repertoire outside of Bruno.
Basically, in this cinematic outing, following a major faux pas at an Austrian fashion show, Bruno finds himself blacklisted from the scene.
In a move not too dissimilar to Borat, he heads to America to achieve fame.
And that's it for the plot (such as it is).
What Bruno is, on the surface, is a collection of real life sketches (some feeling a little false and staged in places it must be said) as Sacha Baron Cohen's alter ego pushes it as far as he can go while interacting with the "real people."
However, like Borat, Bruno succeeds by bringing the worst out in people as they either bow to political correctness or hang themselves by displaying bigoted beliefs - cue many awkward pauses from those who are caught out.
While Borat was at times, squirm inducing, Bruno is likely to shock and offend a lot of people - with plenty of graphic sex jokes, without wanting to sound like a prude, it's not going to be to everyone's taste.
Bruno succeeds in, once again, reveling in pockets of American life which are uncomfortable with some of the modern day gay lifestyle - which isn't really anything new or original.
In fact it's fair to say there is a certain frisson of disappointment that it follows same pattern as Borat - foreigner in America, seeking fame and on a road trip - and pushing people into uncomfortable situations.
But it's also fair to say at times, this is very, very funny, irreverent, scabrous and obscene.
In some of the more amusing moments, Bruno finds himself trying to negotiate peace in the middle East; stripped of his child during an appearance on an American chat show and beaten at a swingers' party.
While poking fun at the celebrity culture and penchant for adopting African children is nothing new, Baron Cohen does it very well and manages to steal a lot of humour from people's reactions to his clearly inflammatory behaviour.
The most shocking part of the film though comes from the public.
Once again it's a real eye opener to see what people will do when the spotlight's turned on them - witness how far American parents will go to get their babies a job in ad; how uneducated some of those in the charity business are and how bigoted some religious people can be.
The producers must have been rubbing their hands with glee as they watched what people would say when the cameras are turned on&
Sacha Baron Cohen clearly has pushed it as far as he can go - witness being pursued in the Middle East because of one of his outfits; meeting with a terrorist to try and achieve fame via kidnapping; his (brief) interview with Harrison Ford is hilarious - there really is nowhere else left for him to go with the celebrity interviewer.
Baron Cohen needs praise though for his quick thinking - he's clearly lived the characters for so long that he knows exactly what they'd do in certain situations - and how to achieve maximum humour and discomfort for those in the firing line.
But on the evidence of Bruno, he's clearly had a lot of fun perverting opinions and subverting attitudes - there are a lot of belly laughs to be had in truly unexpected places. It's a slightly uneven film overall with the various situations sown together on a very thin thread - and it never really achieves the irreverent highs of Borat.
It'll be very interesting to see what he chooses to do next.
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs: Movie Review
Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs: Movie Review
Rating: 7/10
Cast: John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Simon Pegg
Director: Carlos Saldanha, Mike Thurmeier
They say the third time is the charm.
With Ice Age 3: Dawn Of the Dinosaurs, that's definitely the case.
After the events of Ice Age: The Meltdown, Manny the wooly mammoth (Ray Romano) is getting ready for fatherhood with Ellie (Queen Latifah) - and Sid (John Leguizamo) and Diego (Denis Leary) are trying to work out their place in this impending happy family.
Sid is pining for motherhood and Diego's unsure whether he's lost his edge - basically, the pair of them feel out of sorts with Manny's future.
So when Sid stumbles on some dinosaur eggs and adopts them, he inadvertently ends up kidnapped and in an underground world populated by dinosaurs, miles away from his friends.
Realising the danger their friend is in, Diego, Manny and pregnant Ellie head off to try and save him&.
Ice Age 3 is going to be the perfect entertainment for the impending school holidays - and while other third installments of an animated franchise have struggled to keep up the laughs and originality (Shrek 3, I'm looking at you), there's no such danger with this latest addition.
And the reason is because of the pure insanity of some of the side stories.
Granted, the quest to find Sid is not exactly the stuff of cinematic legend, but Ice Age 3 has two major things going for it.
The return of Scrat (and his beloved acorn) and the latest insane addition to the menagerie, Buck the weasel (voiced perfectly by Simon Pegg)
These two combine a wackiness and goofy unpredictability which brings much needed relief to the rather mundane central plot.
Scrat has this time got a female nemesis who messes with his acorn as well as his head - his slapstick antics are sc(r)attered throughout the film and inserted here and there seamlessly - and benefit from the less is more mentality.
But it's Simon Pegg's slightly damaged goods character, Buck the Weasel, who gives the film a much needed boost of sheer hilarity - his character is imbued with a sadness (he's been living underground amongst the dinosaurs for years) but he plays off more of a sort of Apocalypse Now insanity.
The kids will love Ice Age 3 - it's best to enjoy the film in 3D (and it's being released so) and on the big screen - unlike other recent 3D offerings, none of the scenes feel shoe horned in to demonstrate how cool the tech is - some may argue that if the animation's good enough, it shouldn't need 3D to boost it; but in this case, the 3D gives the animation a lush textured feel.
Ice Age 3 isn't on the broad spectrum of animated humourous outings like Toy Story - but it's 90 minutes of great family entertainment which will keep the little darlings quiet while the winter rain continues to pelt down.
Rating: 7/10
Cast: John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Simon Pegg
Director: Carlos Saldanha, Mike Thurmeier
They say the third time is the charm.
With Ice Age 3: Dawn Of the Dinosaurs, that's definitely the case.
After the events of Ice Age: The Meltdown, Manny the wooly mammoth (Ray Romano) is getting ready for fatherhood with Ellie (Queen Latifah) - and Sid (John Leguizamo) and Diego (Denis Leary) are trying to work out their place in this impending happy family.
Sid is pining for motherhood and Diego's unsure whether he's lost his edge - basically, the pair of them feel out of sorts with Manny's future.
So when Sid stumbles on some dinosaur eggs and adopts them, he inadvertently ends up kidnapped and in an underground world populated by dinosaurs, miles away from his friends.
Realising the danger their friend is in, Diego, Manny and pregnant Ellie head off to try and save him&.
Ice Age 3 is going to be the perfect entertainment for the impending school holidays - and while other third installments of an animated franchise have struggled to keep up the laughs and originality (Shrek 3, I'm looking at you), there's no such danger with this latest addition.
And the reason is because of the pure insanity of some of the side stories.
Granted, the quest to find Sid is not exactly the stuff of cinematic legend, but Ice Age 3 has two major things going for it.
The return of Scrat (and his beloved acorn) and the latest insane addition to the menagerie, Buck the weasel (voiced perfectly by Simon Pegg)
These two combine a wackiness and goofy unpredictability which brings much needed relief to the rather mundane central plot.
Scrat has this time got a female nemesis who messes with his acorn as well as his head - his slapstick antics are sc(r)attered throughout the film and inserted here and there seamlessly - and benefit from the less is more mentality.
But it's Simon Pegg's slightly damaged goods character, Buck the Weasel, who gives the film a much needed boost of sheer hilarity - his character is imbued with a sadness (he's been living underground amongst the dinosaurs for years) but he plays off more of a sort of Apocalypse Now insanity.
The kids will love Ice Age 3 - it's best to enjoy the film in 3D (and it's being released so) and on the big screen - unlike other recent 3D offerings, none of the scenes feel shoe horned in to demonstrate how cool the tech is - some may argue that if the animation's good enough, it shouldn't need 3D to boost it; but in this case, the 3D gives the animation a lush textured feel.
Ice Age 3 isn't on the broad spectrum of animated humourous outings like Toy Story - but it's 90 minutes of great family entertainment which will keep the little darlings quiet while the winter rain continues to pelt down.
The Hannah Montana Movie: Movie Review
The Hannah Montana Movie: Movie Review
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Emily Osment, Lucas Till, Vanessa Williams
Director: Peter Chelsom
Finally, the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus phenomenon has hit New Zealand.
Dragging my unsuspecting (male) workmate along to the premiere, we walked into the cinema foyer only to be met by a girls dance troop, two boys strumming guitars on hay bales, and a group of 6-9 year old girls screaming "WE LOVE HANNAH MONTANA" into the lens of a video camera for an enthusiastic film crew.
Quite.
For those of you a beat behind the latest tween sensation here are the cliff notes.
Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) is a regular teen who just happens to have a secret identity - Hannah Montana, the most famous pop star on earth. Miley keeps her alter ego a secret by donning an impenetrable disguise when performing - a blonde wig and a pair of hoops.
In Hannah Montana: The Movie, Miley/Hannah has difficulty handling her fame and begins to act like a diva, forgetting her family values and southern roots. In order to stop her transformation into an LA princess, her father (Billy Ray Cyrus) takes her home to Crowley Corners, a small town in Tennessee, where she gets a dose of reality and begins to reconnect with what's really important in life.
The film is a good one for its genre. While it's no High School Musical, it definitely has more get up and go than Camp Rock, which will be a relief for those of you who've already sat through Camp Rock.
The storyline is predictable (how will the town raise enough money to stop the evil developers? If only there was a wildly successful pop star who could throw a benefit concert to raise funds...) and has several loose threads at the end, but to be honest the kids didn't seem to notice, so who am I to point them out?
Adding to the star power are Tyra Banks and Vanessa Williams, who both cameo in the movie- Banks pulls out her fierce facials for a fight scene while Williams struts her stuff as a pushy publicist.
However, the cameo that got all the kids whispering was by up-and-coming country superstar Taylor Swift - a good friend of Cyrus' who recently sang with her at the 2009 Country Music Awards.
The kids in the audience definitely loved the movie - there was dancing in the aisles, and a lot of concert arm waving. My workmate got his phone out and waved it in the air at one point, but I think he was joking.
All in all it's a bundle of catchy tunes and slapstick humour with the requisite Disney morals pushed home. On the plus side, your kids will love it. On the minus side, Hannah Montana gets compared to the Beatles.
But what's a little blasphemy amongst friends?
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Emily Osment, Lucas Till, Vanessa Williams
Director: Peter Chelsom
Finally, the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus phenomenon has hit New Zealand.
Dragging my unsuspecting (male) workmate along to the premiere, we walked into the cinema foyer only to be met by a girls dance troop, two boys strumming guitars on hay bales, and a group of 6-9 year old girls screaming "WE LOVE HANNAH MONTANA" into the lens of a video camera for an enthusiastic film crew.
Quite.
For those of you a beat behind the latest tween sensation here are the cliff notes.
Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) is a regular teen who just happens to have a secret identity - Hannah Montana, the most famous pop star on earth. Miley keeps her alter ego a secret by donning an impenetrable disguise when performing - a blonde wig and a pair of hoops.
In Hannah Montana: The Movie, Miley/Hannah has difficulty handling her fame and begins to act like a diva, forgetting her family values and southern roots. In order to stop her transformation into an LA princess, her father (Billy Ray Cyrus) takes her home to Crowley Corners, a small town in Tennessee, where she gets a dose of reality and begins to reconnect with what's really important in life.
The film is a good one for its genre. While it's no High School Musical, it definitely has more get up and go than Camp Rock, which will be a relief for those of you who've already sat through Camp Rock.
The storyline is predictable (how will the town raise enough money to stop the evil developers? If only there was a wildly successful pop star who could throw a benefit concert to raise funds...) and has several loose threads at the end, but to be honest the kids didn't seem to notice, so who am I to point them out?
Adding to the star power are Tyra Banks and Vanessa Williams, who both cameo in the movie- Banks pulls out her fierce facials for a fight scene while Williams struts her stuff as a pushy publicist.
However, the cameo that got all the kids whispering was by up-and-coming country superstar Taylor Swift - a good friend of Cyrus' who recently sang with her at the 2009 Country Music Awards.
The kids in the audience definitely loved the movie - there was dancing in the aisles, and a lot of concert arm waving. My workmate got his phone out and waved it in the air at one point, but I think he was joking.
All in all it's a bundle of catchy tunes and slapstick humour with the requisite Disney morals pushed home. On the plus side, your kids will love it. On the minus side, Hannah Montana gets compared to the Beatles.
But what's a little blasphemy amongst friends?
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen: Movie Review
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen: Movie Review
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturro, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Decepticons, Autobots
Director: Michael Bay
Man, oh man if you take the kids to see this, whatever you do, don't fill them with sugar.
Because that, coupled with the visual overload that is Revenge Of The Fallen, will push them right over the edge.
The latest Transformers film, Revenge of The Fallen, has very little plot in terms of what you may come to expect.
However, it breaks down a little something like this: Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is heading to college but after coming into contact with a shard of the Allspark Cube which haunted him in the first Transformers film, he taps into the past of the Transformers - and inadvertently ends up holding the key to their future.
Yet, trouble isn't too far behind as the Decepticons begin to hunt Witwicky down - and once again, the Autobots and the Decepticons fight their battle here on earth - with our future at stake as well as theirs.
As I read that back to myself, I can already sense that you feel there's very little in terms of character analysis, the frailty of the human condition and intelligent sparky dialogue in ROTF.
And you'd be right.
But what there is - in spades - is action sequences designed to make your eyeballs pop out of your head and stun you into submission.
Director Michael Bay's upped the ante this time - within minutes of the film opening, we're plunged into a visually frenetic explosive opening which cuts a swathe through your senses and is designed to leave the kids wanting more, more, more.
What we actually get is a succession of well put together action segments, which move frantically from one set piece to the next with a minimum of plot and exposition - but drips of humour throughout.
Suffice it to say, the budget appears to have been substantially upped in this one - and while the robots get their time to shine (both new and old creations on both sides), it comes, sadly, at the expense of the human actors.
Both Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox are sidelined - Fox in particular has dissolved into some caricature of a token hot female in danger, with pouting lips and a series of short outfits, who simply wants her boyfriend to tell her he loves her.
Even the main Autobots like Bumblebee and Megatron of the Decepticons find themselves out of the main spotlight.
There are some neat robots - the early scene where various kitchen appliances transform into robots brings back memories of the malevolent Gremlins .
Yet for those more subtly underdeveloped robots, there is a pair of comedy Autobots, who spend the film irritating the viewer by talking in hip hop slang and generally bumbling about.
The whole film feels like one long pitch for Hasbro's latest line of toys - but when the action sequences kick in, there's so much going on on the screen that all you can do is sit back and try to process it all - quite frankly you won't be able to (ask the kids after to explain); however, those sequences do look stunning on the big screen (I'd suggest watching it in IMAX if you can) but it's not quite enough to paper over the plot hole cracks.
And it should have been edited down from its mammoth 150 minute running time - in parts it feels bloated and some of the visual shenanigans lose some of their punch after you're assaulted with yet another explosion.
At the end of the day, Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen is one hell of a spectacle - it's everything an old school blockbuster should be - loud, noisy, and a lot of fun.
It's just disappointing some of the smarter brainier side of it has been demoted in favour of old time Hollywood excess.
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturro, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Decepticons, Autobots
Director: Michael Bay
Man, oh man if you take the kids to see this, whatever you do, don't fill them with sugar.
Because that, coupled with the visual overload that is Revenge Of The Fallen, will push them right over the edge.
The latest Transformers film, Revenge of The Fallen, has very little plot in terms of what you may come to expect.
However, it breaks down a little something like this: Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is heading to college but after coming into contact with a shard of the Allspark Cube which haunted him in the first Transformers film, he taps into the past of the Transformers - and inadvertently ends up holding the key to their future.
Yet, trouble isn't too far behind as the Decepticons begin to hunt Witwicky down - and once again, the Autobots and the Decepticons fight their battle here on earth - with our future at stake as well as theirs.
As I read that back to myself, I can already sense that you feel there's very little in terms of character analysis, the frailty of the human condition and intelligent sparky dialogue in ROTF.
And you'd be right.
But what there is - in spades - is action sequences designed to make your eyeballs pop out of your head and stun you into submission.
Director Michael Bay's upped the ante this time - within minutes of the film opening, we're plunged into a visually frenetic explosive opening which cuts a swathe through your senses and is designed to leave the kids wanting more, more, more.
What we actually get is a succession of well put together action segments, which move frantically from one set piece to the next with a minimum of plot and exposition - but drips of humour throughout.
Suffice it to say, the budget appears to have been substantially upped in this one - and while the robots get their time to shine (both new and old creations on both sides), it comes, sadly, at the expense of the human actors.
Both Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox are sidelined - Fox in particular has dissolved into some caricature of a token hot female in danger, with pouting lips and a series of short outfits, who simply wants her boyfriend to tell her he loves her.
Even the main Autobots like Bumblebee and Megatron of the Decepticons find themselves out of the main spotlight.
There are some neat robots - the early scene where various kitchen appliances transform into robots brings back memories of the malevolent Gremlins .
Yet for those more subtly underdeveloped robots, there is a pair of comedy Autobots, who spend the film irritating the viewer by talking in hip hop slang and generally bumbling about.
The whole film feels like one long pitch for Hasbro's latest line of toys - but when the action sequences kick in, there's so much going on on the screen that all you can do is sit back and try to process it all - quite frankly you won't be able to (ask the kids after to explain); however, those sequences do look stunning on the big screen (I'd suggest watching it in IMAX if you can) but it's not quite enough to paper over the plot hole cracks.
And it should have been edited down from its mammoth 150 minute running time - in parts it feels bloated and some of the visual shenanigans lose some of their punch after you're assaulted with yet another explosion.
At the end of the day, Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen is one hell of a spectacle - it's everything an old school blockbuster should be - loud, noisy, and a lot of fun.
It's just disappointing some of the smarter brainier side of it has been demoted in favour of old time Hollywood excess.
Monday, 22 June 2009
A Bunch Of Amateurs: Movie Review
A Bunch Of Amateurs: Movie Review
Rating: 3/10
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Samantha Bond, Derek Jacobi, Imelda Staunton
Director: Andy Cadiff
Lauded as a personal favourite of the Queen and Prince Phillip after the Royal Film Performance in December, A Bunch Of Amateurs is the tale of fading star Jefferson Steel (Burt Reynolds)
Steel is the hero of the Ultimate Finality action blockbusters - but who is looking for his next challenge.
Thanks to the awfulness (and downright idiocy) of his agent (Charles Durning), Steel accepts a part as King Lear in Stratford.
Sounds fine - but what the agent neglects to tell Steel is that the Stratford in question, is not the venue beloved of the Bard, but rather a sleepy backwater in England and with a bunch of am dram actors.
It's about as far away from the Royal Shakespeare Company as Steel could get.
Sadly A Bunch Of Amateurs is also about as far away from funny as you can get.
Co-written by Ian Hislop (a respected UK satirist), I'm sorry to say this is beyond dire in places - Reynolds is wooden in the role and I'm not sure whether that was intentional or otherwise.
Some of the jokes should never have made it off the page - Steel is mis-recognised as Sean Connery and Tom Selleck in a couple of scenes. Granted these jokes may have seemed funny on the page but somewhere in translation they didn't cross over onto the screen.
At best portions of this would have made a made for television movie or sitcom (which would have ultimately been axed)- and nothing more.
Every Hollywood stereotype of an actor heading back to the stage is exploited - Reynolds' ego allows him to mistake a camera being used for construction purposes as a moment of paparazzi stalking.
Granted that could be a cunning statement on the vanity of Hollywood actors taken out of their big star habitat - but in this film, it simply comes across as lazy and unfunny as well as deeply unoriginal.
There is also an entirely predictable sub plot about Steel's troubled relationship with his daughter, which is you won't be shocked to learn, resolved.
If you call a film A Bunch of Amateurs, you are asking for trouble from a reviewer.
Maybe I should be more constructive in my criticism rather than taking easy pot shots at this film.
Perhaps the biggest crime of this film is the squandering of the talent involved - to see Imelda Staunton over-acting in a way which would be better suited to a Carry On movie. And I can't even begin to understand how Derek Jacobi (respected veteran of the RSC) decided it was a good idea to get involved with this.
However, the only actor who emerges with some level of dignity in tact is Samantha Bond - her director never loses the charm and she never descends into the kind of on-screen farce as that displayed by Imelda Staunton.
A Bunch Of Amateurs screams (bad) TV sitcom - it should never have made it to the big screen.
Rating: 3/10
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Samantha Bond, Derek Jacobi, Imelda Staunton
Director: Andy Cadiff
Lauded as a personal favourite of the Queen and Prince Phillip after the Royal Film Performance in December, A Bunch Of Amateurs is the tale of fading star Jefferson Steel (Burt Reynolds)
Steel is the hero of the Ultimate Finality action blockbusters - but who is looking for his next challenge.
Thanks to the awfulness (and downright idiocy) of his agent (Charles Durning), Steel accepts a part as King Lear in Stratford.
Sounds fine - but what the agent neglects to tell Steel is that the Stratford in question, is not the venue beloved of the Bard, but rather a sleepy backwater in England and with a bunch of am dram actors.
It's about as far away from the Royal Shakespeare Company as Steel could get.
Sadly A Bunch Of Amateurs is also about as far away from funny as you can get.
Co-written by Ian Hislop (a respected UK satirist), I'm sorry to say this is beyond dire in places - Reynolds is wooden in the role and I'm not sure whether that was intentional or otherwise.
Some of the jokes should never have made it off the page - Steel is mis-recognised as Sean Connery and Tom Selleck in a couple of scenes. Granted these jokes may have seemed funny on the page but somewhere in translation they didn't cross over onto the screen.
At best portions of this would have made a made for television movie or sitcom (which would have ultimately been axed)- and nothing more.
Every Hollywood stereotype of an actor heading back to the stage is exploited - Reynolds' ego allows him to mistake a camera being used for construction purposes as a moment of paparazzi stalking.
Granted that could be a cunning statement on the vanity of Hollywood actors taken out of their big star habitat - but in this film, it simply comes across as lazy and unfunny as well as deeply unoriginal.
There is also an entirely predictable sub plot about Steel's troubled relationship with his daughter, which is you won't be shocked to learn, resolved.
If you call a film A Bunch of Amateurs, you are asking for trouble from a reviewer.
Maybe I should be more constructive in my criticism rather than taking easy pot shots at this film.
Perhaps the biggest crime of this film is the squandering of the talent involved - to see Imelda Staunton over-acting in a way which would be better suited to a Carry On movie. And I can't even begin to understand how Derek Jacobi (respected veteran of the RSC) decided it was a good idea to get involved with this.
However, the only actor who emerges with some level of dignity in tact is Samantha Bond - her director never loses the charm and she never descends into the kind of on-screen farce as that displayed by Imelda Staunton.
A Bunch Of Amateurs screams (bad) TV sitcom - it should never have made it to the big screen.
Gomorrah: Movie Review
Gomorrah: Movie Review
Rating 7/10
Cast: Nicolo Mante, Gianfelice Imparato
Director: Matteo Garrone
A sprawling epic about the gangster way of life in Italy, Gomorrah has high aspirations.
Based on a notorious book by Roberto Saviano, it's an unflinching portrait of the working of the Comorrah (a mafia-like group) in Naples and Caserta.
Beginning with the brutal slaying of several gangsters in a tanning salon and ending with the death of two wannabe gangsters, this is not a film for the faint hearted.
In a similar vein to Magnolia, the film takes a look at five different Italian lives and how they're touched by the crime syndicate.
There's a teen who sees drugs being ditched and enters the murky world of the gangs; a timid middleman who distributes the money; a graduate trapped in the disgustingly unsafe world of toxic waste management; a tailor who teaches Chinese workers and two cocky teens who see guns being stashed and decide to steal them.
Basically all walks of life are intertwined in this cautionary and bleak tale of the crime world.
Garrone's view of the world tainted by crime is not an easy one to watch at times - various members of various gangs are dispatched brutally and callously throughout.
Gomorrah won't surprise many when it comes to how far the tentacles of crime extend but there is no glamour in the world of Gomorrah - everyone's doing what they have to to survive.
This is no rosy tinted view of gangster life as Tarantino portrayed in Pulp Fiction - it's gritty, grimy and the fact the majority of the cast are unknowns outside of Italy makes it harder to work out who'll survive the body count.
Compelling and upsetting, Gomorrah may take a while to pull you in (it's paced slowly to begin with) - but the beautifully woven narrative will leave you a little shocked and ultimately gripped- and sometimes, that's not a bad thing from a film.
An horrific view of how crime corrupts societies, destroys individuals and provides long term damage to all around it, Gomorrah is everything a good film should be.
Rating 7/10
Cast: Nicolo Mante, Gianfelice Imparato
Director: Matteo Garrone
A sprawling epic about the gangster way of life in Italy, Gomorrah has high aspirations.
Based on a notorious book by Roberto Saviano, it's an unflinching portrait of the working of the Comorrah (a mafia-like group) in Naples and Caserta.
Beginning with the brutal slaying of several gangsters in a tanning salon and ending with the death of two wannabe gangsters, this is not a film for the faint hearted.
In a similar vein to Magnolia, the film takes a look at five different Italian lives and how they're touched by the crime syndicate.
There's a teen who sees drugs being ditched and enters the murky world of the gangs; a timid middleman who distributes the money; a graduate trapped in the disgustingly unsafe world of toxic waste management; a tailor who teaches Chinese workers and two cocky teens who see guns being stashed and decide to steal them.
Basically all walks of life are intertwined in this cautionary and bleak tale of the crime world.
Garrone's view of the world tainted by crime is not an easy one to watch at times - various members of various gangs are dispatched brutally and callously throughout.
Gomorrah won't surprise many when it comes to how far the tentacles of crime extend but there is no glamour in the world of Gomorrah - everyone's doing what they have to to survive.
This is no rosy tinted view of gangster life as Tarantino portrayed in Pulp Fiction - it's gritty, grimy and the fact the majority of the cast are unknowns outside of Italy makes it harder to work out who'll survive the body count.
Compelling and upsetting, Gomorrah may take a while to pull you in (it's paced slowly to begin with) - but the beautifully woven narrative will leave you a little shocked and ultimately gripped- and sometimes, that's not a bad thing from a film.
An horrific view of how crime corrupts societies, destroys individuals and provides long term damage to all around it, Gomorrah is everything a good film should be.
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