Charlie St Cloud: Movie Review

Charlie St Cloud: Movie Review

Charlie St Cloud
Rating: 5/10
Cast: Zac Efron, Charlie Tahan, Amanda Crew, Kim Basinger, Ray Liotta

Director: Burr Steers
Having done so well in Me and Orson Welles, Zac Efron tries ever harder to leave the High School Musical genre behind in this romantic weepy.
He's Charlie St Cloud, who lives in a small American coastal town - a guy with everything going for him; a chance to get a sailing scholarship at Stanford, and a brother Sam (Tahan) who idolizes him but fears he's leaving much like their absent father did to his mum (Kim Basinger).
On the night of graduation, Charlie's saddled with baby sitting Sam rather than joining his mates for one last blast - and so deciding to head out with them, he grabs Sam and they take the car out.
But an accident sees Charlie's life changed forever when a driver kills Sam - suddenly five years has gone and Charlie's still in the same town, tending the graveyard and every night keeping a promise to practise baseball with his dead brother.
Unable to move on, Charlie finds his life changed again when Tess (Crew) a fellow high school graduate heads back to town on the eve of a solo round the world sailing trip.
Can Charlie learn to love - and live again?
Charlie St Cloud shows once again that Zac Efron can actually act - sure he's saddled with horrendous good looks, but he really does hold his own in this flick - and the anguish he conveys when his brother's killed is gut wrenching to say the least.
The whole film is a revelation in many ways - it's an unconventional romantic drama which doesn't do exactly what you'd expect.
Both Tahan and Efron's on screen time is well done and there's an ease between the pair which keeps the whole "I'm playing baseball with my dead brother because I'm a bit damaged" schtick out of the completely weird and kooky and just the right side of charming. Zac impresses throughout - and is clearly the best graduate of the High School musical phenom.

But it's just a shame that the film loses it completely in the final reel as it inevitably moves into the purely cheesy and schmaltz - anything that solicits a major groan from most in the audience is never a good sign. Sure you could probably see it coming, but given the film's confounded your expectations early on, it's just a shame they bottled it at the end.

The Box: DVD Review

The Box: DVD Review

The Box

Released by Warner Home Video
Rating: M

Following on from Donnie Darko and the flop that was Southland Tales, Richard Kelly heads to Twilight Zone territory with this new film based on a short episode.

Based on an episode of the show called "Button, Button" Diaz and Marsden star as a couple just getting by in 1970s Conneticut. One day the doorbell rings early in the morning and the pair find a box on their doorstep along with the message that Mr Steward will visit at 5pm.

When the time comes, Mr Steward (Langella) shows up on their door - and with the offer that if they press the button, they will get one million dollars.

However, if they do take the offer, someone unconnected to them will die&.

The Box is frustrating, infuriating and to be honest, brilliant in places. There's a Twin Peaks/ David Lynch style running throughout which gives the whole story an edge of insanity and a foreboding tone which sees it work.

Langella and Diaz are very good in their roles; Marsden is not quite upto par - but it's Kelly who sees a return to form after the critical drivel that was Southland Tales. Complete with trademark water effects, nosebleeds and Arthur C Clarke, the whole film has a haunting and eerie feel which will guarantee it cult hit status.

Extras: Commentary from Kelly, doco about The Box

Rating: 7/10

Brothers: DVD Review

Brothers: DVD Review

Brothers

Released by Roadshow Entertainment
Rating: M

Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman star in this war drama about the bonds of a family and the horror of war.

Maguire is Captain Sam Cahill who's embarking on a fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan, leaving his wife (Portman) and daughters behind. Just before he heads off, Gyllenhaal's Tommy comes out of jail and attempts an uneasy return to the family.

However, Sam asks Tommy to look after the family while he's away - unfortunately Sam's shot down in Afghanistan and the family is ripped asunder.

Based on a Danish film of the same name, Brothers is quite a traditional melodrama which is a little slow to get going but thanks to the captivating and gripping performances of the main trio involved, it becomes a movie which you can't tear your eyes from towards the end.

While Gyllenhaal and Portman have an easy chemistry - it's Tobey Maguire who really layers on the textured performance and easily captures the horror of war and the psychological effects of the trauma long after leaving the conflict.

Extras: A doco about the director Jim Sheridan, how the film was made for America, and a trailer

Rating: 7/10

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Movie Review

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Movie Review

The Diary of A Wimpy Kid
Rating: 4/10
Cast: Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Steve Zahn
Director: Thor Freudenthal
From a popular cartoon pencil drawn book comes Diary of A Wimpy Kid.
Gordon plays Greg Heffley, an American kid who's about to go to middle school - and he's convinced he's a big fish in a small pond and that he'll be okay.
You see Heffley's got the world sussed out - and reckons his place in it is fairly safe and assured.
Not so much for his best friend since like forever the portly Rowley Jeffesron (Capron) who's likely to pull Greg's social standing all the way down.
Soon, wise-cracking Greg's facing choices he never thought he'd have to make - and consequences for friendships and his personal life.
Diary of A Wimpy Kid is one for the younger end of the audience - complete with jokes about urinating and cooties, it's clearly pitched at the under 10s - and that's fine.
But anyone older or adult in the audience may find it somewhat difficult to sit through - despite some nice moments which see some of the original drawings the film's based on coming to life.
Sure, there's plenty for kids to get their heads around here - be it social standing in school, morals, messages about never turning your back on your friends just to be the cool kid.
Thankfully the child actors acquit themselves well - Zachary Gordon does well with the cocky kid approach and Capron's stand out as the long term buddy Rowley who stands to miss out when his friend loses touch with reality.

But The Diary of A Wimpy Kid is simply too narrow a film to appeal to a broad family audience at a time of year when school holidays are here - and plenty of movies are clamouring for the family dollar.

The Last Airbender: Movie Review

The Last Airbender: Movie Review

The Last Airbender
Rating: See below
Cast: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Dev Patel, Jackson Rathbone, Cliff Curtis
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Based on the phenomenally popular cartoon series of the (relatively) same name, The Last Airbender is the tale of Aang (Ringer), a mystical spiritual child who, in a far off land, holds the magical ability to use the elements and keep the balance of the world together.
But Aang has been missing for years and consequently the Fire Lord nation (who use Fire to subjugate all) has taken over the world - and driven out those who could use the elements such as air, water and earth against them.
However, Aang is found by Katara (Peltz) a teen who has water bending abilities - and when her grandmother tells her that Aang holds the key to the safety of the entire world, she pledges to protect him against the wrath of the Fire Lords who would destroy him and disgraced Fire Lord Prince Zuko (Patel) who has to return to his kingdom with the last airbender to restore his honour and regain his rightful place in the nation and his father's (Cliff Curtis) heart.
I'm not particularly au fait with the source material here - so I grabbed a couple of rabid fans of the series (and their long-suffering mum) to get their take on it.
Jackson, who's 11 gave it 8/10 but said it was "nowhere near as good at the series but still really good". He felt there was "too much mucking around when the air and fire bending is going on" - there are copious scenes of the main characters doing Tai Chi to help bend the elements and use their powers. Overall, he felt it was "worth seeing and the acting was good - even if it went through the episodes (of the Avatar series) too fast."
Connor, who's 17, gave it 5/10, because he felt the "film tried to condense an entire season into one single movie and it wasn't a very good fit. It also included dozens of plot points into the one movie and people who hadn't seen Avatar may be confused about that." He also found the film a little dry and stuffy, saying "It had none of the humour of the series, and some of the acting was not particularly good. The Aang character is way more fun in the cartoon, he's more of a boy with a wayward personality. Because Avatar is in cartoon form the characters are able to be more fluid and the film missed that with the moves." However, he felt "it did pick up around the end."
To this critic's eye, there's some awful dialogue and wooden acting here and there - but genre fans will know this kind of thing comes with these films (Star Wars clunkers anyone?). There's some stunning scenery, but the 3D element of this film adds very little to it, and is wasted in some places. I'm inclined to agree with Connor that some of the main performances are a little off-key - coupled with some clunking dialogue - eg "It is in the heart that all wars are won" particularly from Noah Ringer. The lead isn't quite strong enough to pull it off - maybe he'll improve as, and indeed if, the series continues.
The bottom line here is that with school holidays bashing on the door, this will be a firm crowd favourite to the multitude of fans of the series - but it's questionable whether it'll have the wider appeal it needs to be a major success.

Final rating - based on the kids - 6/10

Wall Street Money Never Sleeps: Movie Review

Wall Street Money Never Sleeps: Movie Review

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Rating: 5/10
Cast: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon, James Brolin, Frank Langella
Director: Oliver Stone
It's 23 years since Gordon Gekko headed to prison at the end of Wall Street - and since then, the real financial world has seen major changes.
The sequel to Wall Street begins with Gekko heading out of prison, collecting his belongings (including that trademark chunky mobile phone) and trying to rediscover his place in the world.
At the same time, Shia LaBeouf's Jacob Moore, an investment banker whose dream is in the energy sector and who's part of successful bank Keller Zabel, run by his mentor Lewis Zabel (Langella).
Moore's also dating Gekko's estranged daughter Winnie (Mulligan) - after watching Gekko speak, Moore turns to Gekko for advice.
However, when things financially hit the skids as the global recession begins to bite, Zabel commits suicide and Moore begins to suspect Josh Brolin's Bretton James may have been involved - and he vows revenge.
And Gekko sees - and seizes - the opportunity to exert his power...
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is a curious film - there's splashes of the usual Oliver Stone extravagance on the directing front but there's also flashes of genius too. One particular trick sees Stone outlining the skylines of New York and London with the share market ups and downs; it's a clever visual touch which stands out.
Also standing out is Michael Douglas who once again burns everyone else off the screen as Gekko - his manipulating, scheming presence may have slightly softened this time round but with that steely twinkle in his eye, Douglas manages to imbue the post recession Gekko with a harshness which is welcome.
Shia LaBeouf gives his character a punky and slightly cocky feel but he manages to keep up with Douglas; it's good to see him maturing as an actor rather than simply fighting robots all the time.
Sadly Carey Mulligan's Winnie is perhaps the weak link in all of this - she spends a lot of time moping and looking forlorn as Gekko's daughter - it's a shame as the character feels underwritten and underused.

That said Oliver Stone's woven an intelligent film together which takes an insider look at the financial wheelings and dealings which brought the world to the brink - it shows that a financial expert's had a hand on the script. The problem is that it goes a little too far into financial speak and despite the drama's being there, it's as if Stone's unveiling yet another conspiracy (though this time it's factual) and the film suffers a little because of it.
But it's the treatment of Gekko which is the most disappointing - the character changes so much in the final reel that you almost feel cheated at the end.

Oh and yes there is a cameo from someone in the original film too - a nice touch which will appeal to fans.

Date Night: DVD Review

Date Night: DVD Review

Date Night

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Entertainment
It comics Steve Carell and Tina Fey team up in this comedy about mistaken identity.

They're Phil and Claire Foster - a NY husband and wife whose suburban lives have been besieged by the mundanities of two point four children; for whom each day is a series of routines - including their Date Night which sees them ordering the same dishes week in, week out.

So, shocked by the news one of their favourite couples is about to divorce, Phil decides to shake things up to prevent their marriage from being the next casualty.

On the spur of the moment, he takes Claire to a swanky Manhattan restaurant and refusing to give in because he doesn't have a reservation, takes someone else's.

However, that's when the problems start and they become embroiled in the world of Manhattan's gangsters.
Date Night has a great cast and there's something about Steve Carell and his deadpan delivery which can leave me in tears; equally Tina Fey goes a long way to convincing me that she's actually funny.
But unfortunately this caper doesn't quite work as a story and I don't know exactly what went wrong with it; it's not a bad film, it's just a bit lacking that 5% magic that needs to make it gel.
That said Date Night remains a fairly disposable piece of fun film for a relatively entertaining date night in.

Rating: 6/10