Limitless: Movie Review

Limitless: Movie Review

Limitless
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Anna Friel
Director: Neil Burger
What if you could find a drug which stimulated all of your brain?
What if you were that dude from the Hangover aka Bradley Cooper and someone presented this premise to you?
Cooper stars as out of work, down on his luck writer Eddie Morra, who's dumped by his girlfriend Lindy (Cornish) because he's going nowhere.
On the very same day, he bumps into his former brother in law whom he's not seen for nine years - and on his advice, Morra takes a techno wonder drug NZT48.
Soon, Morra's finished that book he's been working on for years, made a killing on the stock market and generally stimulated his life more than he could ever have expected to.
With heightened intellect, learning ability and creative powers, he comes to the attention of De Niro's Carl von Loon, a stockbroker who tries to use him to sort a merger.
But Morra's facing all manner of problems; he's being chased by creditors who'll do unmentionable things to him and to make matters worse, he is running out of wonder drug NZT 48.
Coupled with the fact he learns the drug could kill him, Morra's in dire straits...
Limitless has some impressive moments; Cooper does well as Morra, the man who becomes addicted to the drug and improving his life. He brings the behaviour mannerisms of any addict to life and yet manages to keep this druggie affable and watchable.
Director Burger also starts off well - using some clever lighting techniques and camera ideas to reflect the highs of taking the drug (everything becomes crystal clear and bathed in a yellow light).
But then he blows it - as Burger soon himself becomes addicted to the thrill of using the same psychedelic tricks over and over and over again; any subtlety and appreciation for the novelty is pounded out of you with their repetition. It's akin to your senses being visually pummelled repeatedly with a very blunt object.
Throw into the mix some frankly ludicrous plot developments (Morra encourages his girlfriend to use the drug to think her way out of a tight spot - even after he's learnt how dangerous the drug is) and you begin to realise Limitless has found its own boundaries.
It's based on a novel and while it has a couple of reasonable twists, most can be seen coming.

It's a shame because the trippy start and the solid performances of the main cast make Limitless a little different, engaging from the get go and likely to confound some of your expectations; but unfortunately an over-use of some stylish shots detract from the end result and you get some of the highs of a trip - but also some of the lows.

Dr Who: A Christmas Carol: DVD Review

Dr Who: A Christmas Carol: DVD Review

Dr Who - A Christmas Carol

Released by BBC and Roadshow
Rating: PG
So Matt Smith's first Christmas outing as the Eleventh Doctor arrives - and it's a complete rip off of Dickens.
With Amy and Rory on honeymoon and trapped on a space liner about to crash, it's upto the Doc to save the day.
But standing between him and a rescue effort is Michael Gambon's Kazran Sardick, a Bah humbug character who doesn't believe anyone deserves a happy ending.
So, with the Doc taking on the role of Christmasses past, present and future (Time travelling's never been so convenient), he sets out to melt Sardick's heart and save his pals.
Firstly, this is about as Christmassy as Who gets - which coming after Tennant's Festive Farewell in 2009 is a relief; but it does have the feeling of being a little too fluffy at times - and even has a flying shark.
No seriously, it does.
But,ultimately this does melt your heart and before you know it (and with a second viewing) you're swept along with the adventure and feeling festive. However, Steven Moffat really does need to up the writing to match Matt Smith's impeccable performance - and it remains to see if Series six will deliver later this year.
Extras: Dr Who at the proms and Behind the scenes - a rounded if unspectacular package.

Rating: 7/10 

Farewell: DVD Review

Farewell: DVD Review

Farewell
Rating: M
Released by Roadshow
It's back to the 1980s for this espionage thriller set in events which led to the fall of the Soviet Bloc.

As it opens on a white landscape filled with snow, a lone wolf watches troops head off into a truck - and from there, the action flicks from the cold wastelands to the decadent west of the 1980s France.

Guillaume Canet is Pierre Froment, an engineer who's caught up in the world of espionage and trading secrets to the Soviets. But soon, this relatively naïve spy is making big waves in the world and powers higher up are wondering where the leaks are coming from.

And as the web is more deeply woven, both Reagan (Fred Ward) and Gorbachev, as well as President Mitterand find themselves in the line of suspicion as a cat and mouse game develops between intelligence agencies.

Farewell is a globe trotting complex and deeply rich film - it starts off slowly and builds towards the end. There's an authenticity to the film which is there from the beginning - and Fred Ward impresses as Reagan.

While it's intelligent and engrossing film making, it does at times teeter on the slightly slow side as it follows its story from beginning to end. That's not to say it's not captivating - it just takes a little time to suck you in.

Rating: 7/10

four Lions: DVD Review

four Lions: DVD Review

Four Lions
Rating: R13
Released by Roadshow
A comedy film about British Muslims looking to commit a terrorist act - there's already some of you out there reading this who've formed your own opinion of what this is.

Well, let me tell you - you're completely wrong.
British satirist Chris Morris turns his eye on four would be suicide bombers in this hilariously insane comedy.
The would be terror cell are so incompetent that their leader Omar (Ahmed) shows the messed up takes of their terrorist video to his son and says they could be deleted scenes for a DVD release.

This quartet wants to take their dreams of Jihadism to new levels - and plot to devastate the London Marathon. But Omar is disillusioned about the treatment of Muslims around the world and is determined to become a soldier - however, his views clash with that of white Islamic convert Barry (Lindsay) who believes a) that he's "the most al Qaeda one here" and b) that blowing up a mosque would be the best way to set the world alight.
As their ideologies and opinions clash, the group blunders ever closer to achieving their goals - despite their innate stupidity.
Granted there will be debate about how the four are portrayed - and some will take offence.
However, the writers planned for that during their in depth research and talking to Muslims - every sensitivity has been taken to ensure what you see on screen is not offensive or racist.
What Morris and his team of writers have done is take logical arguments over the matter to the absolute absurd end.
Four Lions remains a case of light the touch paper and stand well back - but it's searing entertainment which subtly plays with your expectations - and confounds them at every turn.
Extras: Deleted scenes, film premiere and behind the scenes

Rating: 8/10

Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee: DVD Review

Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee: DVD Review

Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee

Rating: R16
Released by Madman
Shane Meadows once again blazes a trail in this doco comedy about an inept rapper and his even more inept manager, Le Donk (a clueless yet loveable Paddy Considine.)
Dumped by his pregnant girlfriend, Le Donk is determined to get the somewhat dumpy Scor-zay-zee onto the stage to support the Arctic monkeys.
So with a camera crew in tow, the pair hit the motorways and appear to be on the verge of achieving their dream....
With a touch of Peter Kay in there somewhere and some top acting from Considine (brilliant in Hot Fuzz), this mocko doco is terrific fun.
Taking a while to adjust to the style of filming is rewarding as the hapless duo worm their way into your heart - they're not completely clueless; special mention needs to go to Olivia Coleman (From Peep Show) for her part in this.
Apparently shot over 5 days, Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee is a road movie with an insanely funny heart which will become beloved by many.
Extras: Deleted scenes and trailer - minimal.

Rating: 8/10 

Blue Valentine: Movie Review

Blue Valentine: Movie Review

Blue Valentine
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams
Director: Derek Cianfrance
With an Oscar nom in tow for Michelle Williams (but sadly no win), Blue Valentine turns an uneasy warts and all eye on a marriage in trouble.
One day, Gosling's Dean and Williams' Cindy are suffering under the strains of six years together.
On a whim, the pair palm off their young daughter to family and check into a crappy local motel to try and recoup some of the love.
However, as the night creaks under the weight of expectation, the cracks in their marriage begin to widen.
Blue Valentine is gritty, emotionally raw and heart breaking in places. Interspersed with flashbacks to their first meetings the films blessed with two compelling performances from a pair of actors hitting their peak.
Williams conveys every emotion of despair and desperation as the strain begins to show; but her Oscar nominated performance is matched by Gosling who veers from anger to frustration and love with ease - and consequently both actors are unmissable because of their opposite's performance.
Two compelling actors give their all to this and it soars because of it - it's not a comfortable watch by any stretch of the imagination but thanks to a clever way the narrative unfolds, it feels natural, upsetting and at times, tender way of looking at the ups and downs of love.
Blue Valentine runs the gamut of every raw and human emotion; it shines a spotlight on what makes - and breaks - a marriage and because of Gosling and Williams, it really does feel like a superior sobering two hander.

Grimy, raw and yet poignant in the extreme, Blue Valentine is a powerful watch - a piece of cinema which signals two actors have stars which are continuing to rise.

I Am Number Four: Movie Review

I Am Number Four: Movie Review

I Am Number Four
Rating: 5/10
Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron
Director: D J Caruso
Teen sci-fi is always a popular genre and I Am Number Four arrives on the screens, crying out the possibilities for a potential franchise.
Pettyfer is "John Smith", an alien on the run and one of a mysterious nine from his home world being hunted.
Holed up in Ohio, Smith, with his protector Henri (Olyphant) tries to blend in - enrolling in high school and just attempting to be a normal teen with the usual teen issues.
But as the others of his race are hunted down and killed, Smith complicates his life by falling for local girl Sarah (Agron), making it difficult for him to flee his pursuers.
So as the tensions grow with his pursuers, his guardian Henri, Smith decides to take a stand.
I Am Number Four is reasonably good teen fare - it's nothing original; new kid has issues with school bullies, resents the interference of his guardian, falls for a girl - they're all very universally explored themes.
While it zips along well, despite some impressive action sequences and effects, there's little that makes this stand out from the rest of the crowd.
Granted, its teen audience may be attracted to the ideas and the good looks (and at times moodiness) of the core characters, but that may be its undoing for the rest of the cinema going public.
Pettyfer (formerly of Stormbreaker) is fine as the alien on the run; his scenes with Palmer are okay too - there's nothing radical in them and there's nothing that makes you switch off or not engage with them throughout.

I Am Number Four ends with the potential for a sequel (and is from a series of books) but unless the drama is stepped up a little and the audience widened, it could end up being a case of a missed opportunity.