Predicament: DVD Review
Predicament
Rating: M
Released by Vendetta Films
Adapted from
the novel by New Zealand author Ronald Hugh Morrieson, this is the tale of naive
teen Cedric Williamson (newcomer Hayden Frost).
Cedric is bullied at school and has an odd family life (to say the
least). His father (Tim Finn) is building an enormous tower in their front yard
from rubble, as he copes with the loss of his wife.
One day Cedric meets Mervyn Toebeck (Heath Franklin aka comedian
Chopper) and the pair forms a friendship, with Mervyn abusing the bond to bludge
off Cedric and his family.
When pasty white oddball
Spook (Jemaine Clement) shows up, the trio hits upon the idea of blackmailing
the locals - and Cedric's determined to use the scheme to get revenge against
the Bramwells (the developers who stole his family land).
But the revenge plot goes a little wrong.
Wannabe Gothic comedy it may be, but Predicament remains a difficult
and divisive watch. Sure Clement and Franklin make good watching, and while the
scenery is beautifully realized and shot, there's little that's actually
engaging in the film itself.
Which is bitterly
disappointing - I can't exactly pinpoint why Predicament doesn't do anything for
me; but it is a curio of a film.
Extras: Trailers, featurettes and cast and crew
interviews - nothing sensational.
Rating:
5/10
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Salt: DVD Review
Salt: DVD Review
Salt
Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Entertainment
Angelina Jolie stars as Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent whose life is turned upside down one day when, on the eve of her wedding anniversary, a Russian defector comes in from the cold and fingers her as a Russian sleeper agent.
It gets worse when Salt's accused of being the one who will kill the Russian president in America, igniting fears of Day X (a feared day when America and her allies will be attacked on all sides) coming true.
Mind you, Salt doesn't help herself by running - to try and clear her name.
Salt is a thriller which doesn't thrill as much as it could. It's fine in the action stakes and kudos need to be given to those involved as the majority of the stunts are done without the use of CGI...but it's the story which has hokum written all over it.
The main trio of actors involved- Liev Schreiber, Chijetel Ejiofor and Jolie acquit themselves fine - they're all very dour and G man in various ways - and the whole film does take itself rather seriously.
Jolie's ok when she's kicking some ass but she looks so slight that it's a hard ask to be convinced that she'd be the one to better the bad guys (or are they the good guys?).
Underwhelming - and disappointing given this could be the first of the franchise.
Extras: Doco on Ange as action hero; a look at the costumes and commentary with Philip Noyce, director.
Rating: 5/10
Salt
Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Entertainment
Angelina Jolie stars as Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent whose life is turned upside down one day when, on the eve of her wedding anniversary, a Russian defector comes in from the cold and fingers her as a Russian sleeper agent.
It gets worse when Salt's accused of being the one who will kill the Russian president in America, igniting fears of Day X (a feared day when America and her allies will be attacked on all sides) coming true.
Mind you, Salt doesn't help herself by running - to try and clear her name.
Salt is a thriller which doesn't thrill as much as it could. It's fine in the action stakes and kudos need to be given to those involved as the majority of the stunts are done without the use of CGI...but it's the story which has hokum written all over it.
The main trio of actors involved- Liev Schreiber, Chijetel Ejiofor and Jolie acquit themselves fine - they're all very dour and G man in various ways - and the whole film does take itself rather seriously.
Jolie's ok when she's kicking some ass but she looks so slight that it's a hard ask to be convinced that she'd be the one to better the bad guys (or are they the good guys?).
Underwhelming - and disappointing given this could be the first of the franchise.
Extras: Doco on Ange as action hero; a look at the costumes and commentary with Philip Noyce, director.
Rating: 5/10
Friday, 7 January 2011
Piranha: DVD Review
Piranha: DVD Review
Piranha
Released by Roadshow Entertainment
Rating: R18
You want a plot? It's all there in the title - well, aside from the gratuitous nudity and gore.
It's spring break in Arizona and with thousands of randy ready to party teens heading to town and on Lake Victoria itself, local sheriff Julie Forester (Elisabeth Shue) has her hands full.
But matters are made worse when an earthquake rips open a prehistoric cavern where thousands of vicious death fish live&.can the sheriff save the day?
B grade at its very core and very finest, this exploitation flick has its tongue in its cheek (even if the director won't admit it). While the cinema release benefited from the novelty of 3D, this DVD version adds little - and with a lack of 3D feels somewhat flat; so much so that the plot starts to drag.
File Piranha under guilty pleasure and bloody good fun - if you like countless deaths, gratuitous nudity and B movie acting (and have had a few beers with some mates) this is the film for you.
Extras: Commentary, deleted scenes and the trailer - not much trawled up in this net.
Rating: 6/10
Piranha
Released by Roadshow Entertainment
Rating: R18
You want a plot? It's all there in the title - well, aside from the gratuitous nudity and gore.
It's spring break in Arizona and with thousands of randy ready to party teens heading to town and on Lake Victoria itself, local sheriff Julie Forester (Elisabeth Shue) has her hands full.
But matters are made worse when an earthquake rips open a prehistoric cavern where thousands of vicious death fish live&.can the sheriff save the day?
B grade at its very core and very finest, this exploitation flick has its tongue in its cheek (even if the director won't admit it). While the cinema release benefited from the novelty of 3D, this DVD version adds little - and with a lack of 3D feels somewhat flat; so much so that the plot starts to drag.
File Piranha under guilty pleasure and bloody good fun - if you like countless deaths, gratuitous nudity and B movie acting (and have had a few beers with some mates) this is the film for you.
Extras: Commentary, deleted scenes and the trailer - not much trawled up in this net.
Rating: 6/10
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Mademoiselle Chambon: Movie Review
Mademoiselle Chambon: Movie Review
Mademoiselle Chambon
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Vincent Lindon, Sandrine Kiberlain
Director: Stephane Brize
The ever present Vincent Lindon crops up as Jean in this new film.
Jean's a happily married man, a loving father whose wife is expecting again and whose life is filled with the routine of the construction site, his father's ailing health and his son's school days.
And it's at that school that when picking up his son, Jeremy, he meets alluring Mademoiselle Chambon (Kiberlain).
Mesmerised, Jean starts to wake from his perfectly happy life and ponders whether he should take a chance on another life altogether...
Mademoiselle Chambon is one of those restrained, engrossing French dramas which is artfully directed, well acted and guaranteed to leave you swooning in its path.
Thanks to the rugged charm of Lindon, it's not an unpleasant film to watch - thanks to plenty of restrained looks, glances and daring eyes, there's a nice build up to the dilemma he faces.
Kiberlain is also good as Chambon, a woman whose flitting from school to school lifestyle attracts Jean - it's easy to understand the attraction and the reason for Jean's dilemma.
However, it's also down to restrained direction; it's kept plausible with the build up and not just seen as some rushed situation aimed at titillation - there's an emotional core to this. And while that core may not attract all, there's certainly something here for people to lose themselves in.
Mademoiselle Chambon
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Vincent Lindon, Sandrine Kiberlain
Director: Stephane Brize
The ever present Vincent Lindon crops up as Jean in this new film.
Jean's a happily married man, a loving father whose wife is expecting again and whose life is filled with the routine of the construction site, his father's ailing health and his son's school days.
And it's at that school that when picking up his son, Jeremy, he meets alluring Mademoiselle Chambon (Kiberlain).
Mesmerised, Jean starts to wake from his perfectly happy life and ponders whether he should take a chance on another life altogether...
Mademoiselle Chambon is one of those restrained, engrossing French dramas which is artfully directed, well acted and guaranteed to leave you swooning in its path.
Thanks to the rugged charm of Lindon, it's not an unpleasant film to watch - thanks to plenty of restrained looks, glances and daring eyes, there's a nice build up to the dilemma he faces.
Kiberlain is also good as Chambon, a woman whose flitting from school to school lifestyle attracts Jean - it's easy to understand the attraction and the reason for Jean's dilemma.
However, it's also down to restrained direction; it's kept plausible with the build up and not just seen as some rushed situation aimed at titillation - there's an emotional core to this. And while that core may not attract all, there's certainly something here for people to lose themselves in.
Morning Glory: Movie Review
Morning Glory: Movie Review
Morning Glory
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Wilson
Director: Roger Michell
So it's into the heady world of breakfast television we go with this frothy light comedy piece from the director of Notting Hill.
McAdams stars as Becky Fuller, a producer on a television news show. Fired from her current role, she ends up being offered the job as a producer on a failing show called DayBreak.
Single and not tied down by relationships or family, Fuller lives for the job and seizes the opportunity thrust her way by Jeff Goldblum's laconic TV exec Jerry Barnes. On her first day she fires weird co-anchor Paul McVee (played brilliantly by Modern Family's Ty Burrell) and suddenly finds she needs a co host for Diane Keaton's Colleen Peck.
Enter Harrison Ford's prickly and slightly bitter former news anchor Mike Pomeroy. Once a newsmaker and a newsbreaker, Pomeroy's in the twilight of his career and not willing to sacrifice news values for fluffier breakfast time pieces.
However, when Fuller's told DayBreak's on the verge of being cancelled, she realizes she has to do everything she can to get Mike into the swing of things to save all their jobs.
Morning Glory is as fluffy as the genre it's parodying but it's kept alive by the performances of both McAdams as the annoyingly perky and optimistic Fuller and Ford as the gruff and irritable co anchor Pomeroy. In fact it's probably fair to say it's more Ford's film as he has endless fun refusing to do stuff, compromise his ideals and values as well as be opposed to everything. He also gets the lion's share of the best lines too - with bon mots like "News is a sacred temple" and "Half your audience has lost the remote control - and the other half are waiting to be turned over by the nurse." It's that kind of sarcasm which pervades the script and keeps things going.
Diane Keaton is a little sidelined in this unfortunately - but it's a solid performance from her too.
Unfortunately the end of Morning Glory sinks into a schmaltzy mire (perhaps, inevitably) and the whole thing leaves a bit of a saccharine taste in your mouth - overall, Morning Glory may well appeal more to those in the television industry and the media who'll recognize the egos, the debates and the problems; the rest of us may well be wondering what else is on the other channel.
Morning Glory
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Wilson
Director: Roger Michell
So it's into the heady world of breakfast television we go with this frothy light comedy piece from the director of Notting Hill.
McAdams stars as Becky Fuller, a producer on a television news show. Fired from her current role, she ends up being offered the job as a producer on a failing show called DayBreak.
Single and not tied down by relationships or family, Fuller lives for the job and seizes the opportunity thrust her way by Jeff Goldblum's laconic TV exec Jerry Barnes. On her first day she fires weird co-anchor Paul McVee (played brilliantly by Modern Family's Ty Burrell) and suddenly finds she needs a co host for Diane Keaton's Colleen Peck.
Enter Harrison Ford's prickly and slightly bitter former news anchor Mike Pomeroy. Once a newsmaker and a newsbreaker, Pomeroy's in the twilight of his career and not willing to sacrifice news values for fluffier breakfast time pieces.
However, when Fuller's told DayBreak's on the verge of being cancelled, she realizes she has to do everything she can to get Mike into the swing of things to save all their jobs.
Morning Glory is as fluffy as the genre it's parodying but it's kept alive by the performances of both McAdams as the annoyingly perky and optimistic Fuller and Ford as the gruff and irritable co anchor Pomeroy. In fact it's probably fair to say it's more Ford's film as he has endless fun refusing to do stuff, compromise his ideals and values as well as be opposed to everything. He also gets the lion's share of the best lines too - with bon mots like "News is a sacred temple" and "Half your audience has lost the remote control - and the other half are waiting to be turned over by the nurse." It's that kind of sarcasm which pervades the script and keeps things going.
Diane Keaton is a little sidelined in this unfortunately - but it's a solid performance from her too.
Unfortunately the end of Morning Glory sinks into a schmaltzy mire (perhaps, inevitably) and the whole thing leaves a bit of a saccharine taste in your mouth - overall, Morning Glory may well appeal more to those in the television industry and the media who'll recognize the egos, the debates and the problems; the rest of us may well be wondering what else is on the other channel.
Tangled: Movie Review
Tangled: Movie Review
Tangled
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Zachary Levi, Mandy Moore, Donna Murphy
Director: Nathan Greno
It's Disney's 50th animated film.
And to celebrate, they're rolling out an animated version of Rapunzel for 2011.
Mandy Moore stars as the erstwhile long haired princess Rapunzel, who's trapped in the tower by the evil Gothel (Murphy). You see, Gothel knows that Rapunzel's hair has the power to turn back time and make people young again - and in true evil, godmother fashion she wants to keep that power all for her own.
However, as Rapunzel reaches her 18th birthday, she decides what she wants to do to celebrate is to leave the tower and see the lights which appear every year without fail on her birthday. (Unbeknownst to her, those lights are floating lanterns, launched by her parents as they try to find her.)
Gothel says no - but Rapunzel (and her pet chameleon Pascal) finds her life changed by the arrival of thief Flynn Rider (Chuck's Zachary Levi) who is looking for a hideout.
Flynn is coerced into helping - and together, the duo set off into the kingdom&
Tangled is a good ole fashioned Disney film - with songs within minutes of opening (complete with catchy lyrics such as 'Don't risk the drama, stay with Mama' and 'I could be called deadly from my killer show medley') it's clearly aimed at provoking a bit of nostalgia within the audience.
But there's a sharp deftness to the script which sees it veer from being a little too old fashioned - and it's enlivened by great performances from Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore who give their characters a real boost from their subtle vocal tones.
There's also good old fashioned Disney fun to be had from the animals of the piece; the chameleon and a horse from the palace guards known as Maximus. Neither says anything but again, it's their antics which will amuse the kids both young and old.
There's also unexpected moments of adult humour dotted throughout - such as when Rapunzel leaves the tower for the first time, she veers between deep joy and numbing guilt - it's fun touches like this which add to the overall feel.
It's no crime to say Tangled is nothing spectacularly new on the story front or when it comes to the songs- but thanks to a warmth and engaging charm as well as some good solid animation, it's a great family time out at the cinema.
Tangled
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Zachary Levi, Mandy Moore, Donna Murphy
Director: Nathan Greno
It's Disney's 50th animated film.
And to celebrate, they're rolling out an animated version of Rapunzel for 2011.
Mandy Moore stars as the erstwhile long haired princess Rapunzel, who's trapped in the tower by the evil Gothel (Murphy). You see, Gothel knows that Rapunzel's hair has the power to turn back time and make people young again - and in true evil, godmother fashion she wants to keep that power all for her own.
However, as Rapunzel reaches her 18th birthday, she decides what she wants to do to celebrate is to leave the tower and see the lights which appear every year without fail on her birthday. (Unbeknownst to her, those lights are floating lanterns, launched by her parents as they try to find her.)
Gothel says no - but Rapunzel (and her pet chameleon Pascal) finds her life changed by the arrival of thief Flynn Rider (Chuck's Zachary Levi) who is looking for a hideout.
Flynn is coerced into helping - and together, the duo set off into the kingdom&
Tangled is a good ole fashioned Disney film - with songs within minutes of opening (complete with catchy lyrics such as 'Don't risk the drama, stay with Mama' and 'I could be called deadly from my killer show medley') it's clearly aimed at provoking a bit of nostalgia within the audience.
But there's a sharp deftness to the script which sees it veer from being a little too old fashioned - and it's enlivened by great performances from Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore who give their characters a real boost from their subtle vocal tones.
There's also good old fashioned Disney fun to be had from the animals of the piece; the chameleon and a horse from the palace guards known as Maximus. Neither says anything but again, it's their antics which will amuse the kids both young and old.
There's also unexpected moments of adult humour dotted throughout - such as when Rapunzel leaves the tower for the first time, she veers between deep joy and numbing guilt - it's fun touches like this which add to the overall feel.
It's no crime to say Tangled is nothing spectacularly new on the story front or when it comes to the songs- but thanks to a warmth and engaging charm as well as some good solid animation, it's a great family time out at the cinema.
Unstoppable: Movie Review
Unstoppable: Movie Review
Unstoppable
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Chris Pine, Denzel Washington, Rosario Dawson, Ethan Suplee
Director: Tony Scott
A hero with a buzz cut, a runaway vehicle and the potential for disaster.
Haven't we heard that somewhere before? Well, that and Denzel in another Tony Scott train film too&
In this latest from Tony Scott, Chris Pine stars as Will Colson, a newbie in the rail industry - and one who, according to older work colleagues has gained his position as a conductor on the rails in rural Pennsylvania because of nepotism.
Denzel is Frank Barnes, a long time employee of the rail roads who's seen it all before and is now just doing his job and training Colson.
However, their spiky training run is broken by the news another train's broken loose and thundering on the tracks, complete with a chemical payload and no driver because of an accidental mess up from a fellow employee Dewey (Ethan Suplee).
As the owner of the railway tries to work out how best to avert the disaster of a train ploughing into civilization, Barnes and Colson work with yardmaster Connie (ever dependable Rosario Dawson) to try and save the day.
Apparently inspired by true events, Unstoppable is actually better than the premise makes it sound - and thanks to some restrained directing from Tony Scott, it's actually more watchable than you'd believe.
Sure, there's plenty of swooping, circling aerial camera shots and continuous angled camera moments as the train continues on its path of destruction; but Unstoppable also throws in some decent characters and some commentary about old timers being forced out of jobs for young upstarts who know nothing of the industry.
Granted, Colson and Barnes have emotional baggage (Colson's got family problems - and whaddya know, so does Barnes) but thanks to believable, underplayed performances from both Pine and the ever sage Washington, you find yourself sucked into their world - even if you know exactly how it will play out. With dialogue such as "We're not talking about a train - we're talking about a missile" the whole thing seems as if it could swerve dangerously into over the top out of control hysteria.
However, thanks to Scott's assured leadership, this train stays firmly on the tracks - and destined for entertainment.
Unstoppable
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Chris Pine, Denzel Washington, Rosario Dawson, Ethan Suplee
Director: Tony Scott
A hero with a buzz cut, a runaway vehicle and the potential for disaster.
Haven't we heard that somewhere before? Well, that and Denzel in another Tony Scott train film too&
In this latest from Tony Scott, Chris Pine stars as Will Colson, a newbie in the rail industry - and one who, according to older work colleagues has gained his position as a conductor on the rails in rural Pennsylvania because of nepotism.
Denzel is Frank Barnes, a long time employee of the rail roads who's seen it all before and is now just doing his job and training Colson.
However, their spiky training run is broken by the news another train's broken loose and thundering on the tracks, complete with a chemical payload and no driver because of an accidental mess up from a fellow employee Dewey (Ethan Suplee).
As the owner of the railway tries to work out how best to avert the disaster of a train ploughing into civilization, Barnes and Colson work with yardmaster Connie (ever dependable Rosario Dawson) to try and save the day.
Apparently inspired by true events, Unstoppable is actually better than the premise makes it sound - and thanks to some restrained directing from Tony Scott, it's actually more watchable than you'd believe.
Sure, there's plenty of swooping, circling aerial camera shots and continuous angled camera moments as the train continues on its path of destruction; but Unstoppable also throws in some decent characters and some commentary about old timers being forced out of jobs for young upstarts who know nothing of the industry.
Granted, Colson and Barnes have emotional baggage (Colson's got family problems - and whaddya know, so does Barnes) but thanks to believable, underplayed performances from both Pine and the ever sage Washington, you find yourself sucked into their world - even if you know exactly how it will play out. With dialogue such as "We're not talking about a train - we're talking about a missile" the whole thing seems as if it could swerve dangerously into over the top out of control hysteria.
However, thanks to Scott's assured leadership, this train stays firmly on the tracks - and destined for entertainment.
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