This Means War: Movie Review

This Means War

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hardy, Chris Pine, Til Schweiger

It's Spy vs Spy in this film - and it's one aimed squarely at the date market as we head into Valentine's week.
FDR (Pine) and Tuck (Hardy) are long term mates and compadres at the CIA - they're the kind of guys who have each other's back when the going gets tough and the bullets are flying.

But Tuck longs for a bit of female company, having split with his wife and family; FDR though is the complete opposite - a self assured womaniser who's never short of the ladies and always happier for a one night stand than anything more long term.

Meanwhile, Lauren (Reese Witherspoon) is working as a consumer tester and also is looking for a little bit of love after the fact her ex's got engaged.

So, when Tuck signs up to a dating service, he ends up on a date with Lauren and it goes quite well; but when FDR spots her in a nearby video store, he too picks her up. Suddenly, it's spy vs spy in the game of love, something which is further complicated by the fact an undercover mission involving Tuck and FDR left the brother of a terrorist (Schweiger) dead - and he wants revenge.

The thing is with this film is that it's not based in any kind of reality and is just simply a piece of unashamed blockbuster crowd pleasing entertainment.
It's good to see Tom Hardy playing something softer than the hard man and both he and Pine have a good rapport as this spy versus spy tale of one up-man ship progresses.
Reese Witherspoon is in audience pandering ditz mode as Lauren, the girl torn between 2 guys; she rolls out that apple pie perky grin to devastating effect here.

Granted the vengeful terrorist storyline is a bit wasted and it's almost as if McG forgot this was part of the story given the randomness with which it pops up from time to time.

McG throws out some over-the-top set pieces with huge explosions and implausible set ups/aftermaths but it's exactly what you'd expect in a film where logic rarely plays a part; on a side note, a few of the action sequences blur by so quickly you can barely keep up.
Sure it's corny, cheesy and totally goofy but This Means War is an unashamedly silly guilty pleasure of a flick which will work as a treat for date night - but not if you're out for something aimed at taxing the grey matter.

Rating

Watch the This Means War trailer:

BAFTA Winners 2012

We're edging closer to the Oscars - and the Brits have just handed out their annual back slapping BAFTAs - which as ever, tends to favour the British talent over the rest of the world.

Here's the list of the winners from the glittering show in London, hosted by the ever funny Stephen Fry.

BEST FILM

WINNER: The Artist

The

Descendants
Drive

The Help
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

WINNER: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Tomas Alfredson, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo, Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan


My Week With Marilyn - Simon Curtis, David Parfitt, Harvey Weinstein, Adrian Hodges
Senna - Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Manish Pandey
Shame - Steve Mcqueen, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Abi Morgan
We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lynne Ramsay, Luc Roeg, Jennifer Fox, Robert Salerno, Rory Stewart Kinnear

LEADING ACTOR

WINNER: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Clooney, The Descendants
Michael Fassbender, Shame


LEADING ACTRESS

WINNER: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis, The Help


SUPPORTING ACTOR

WINNER: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Jim Broadbent, The Iron Lady
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Ides of March


SUPPORTING ACTRESS

WINNER: Octavia Spencer, The Help


Carey Mulligan, Drive
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Judi Dench, My Week With Marilyn
Melissa Mccarthy, Bridesmaids

DIRECTOR

WINNER: The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius

Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn
Hugo, Martin Scorsese
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tomas Alfredson
We Need To Talk About Kevin, Lynne Ramsay

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

WINNER: Tyrannosaur - Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)
Attack The Block - Joe Cornish (Director/Writer)
Black Pond - Will Sharpe (Director/Writer), Tom Kingsley (Director), Sarah Brocklehurst (Producer)
Coriolanus - Ralph Fiennes (Director)
Submarine - Richard Ayoade (Director/Writer)

ANIMATED FILM

WINNER: Rango - Gore Verbinski

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn - Steven Spielberg
Arthur Christmas - Sarah Smith

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

WINNER: The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius


Bridesmaids, Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
The Guard, John Michael Mcdonagh
The Iron Lady, Abi Morgan
Midnight In Paris, Woody Allen


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

WINNER: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan


The Descendants - Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
The Help - Tate Taylor
The Ides of March - George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
Moneyball - Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin


FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

WINNER: The Skin I Live In - Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin Almodóvar

Incendies - Denis Villeneuve, Luc Déry, Kim Mcgraw
Pina - Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel
Potiche - François Ozon, Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
A Separation - Asghar Farhadi

DOCUMENTARY


*WINNER: Senna - Asif Kapadia

George Harrison: Living In The Material World - Martin Scorsese
Project Nim - James Marsh, Simon Chinn

CINEMATOGRAPHY

WINNER: The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo - Robert Richardson
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Hoyte Van Hoytema
War Horse - Janusz Kaminski


PRODUCTION DESIGN
WINNER: Hugo - Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo

The Artist - Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 - Stuart Craig, Stephenie Mcmillan
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana Macdonald
War Horse - Rick Carter, Lee Sandales

COSTUME DESIGN

WINNER: The Artist - Mark Bridges

Hugo - Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre - Michael O'Connor
My Week With Marilyn - Jill Taylor
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Jacqueline Durran

MAKE UP & HAIR
WINNER: The Iron Lady-  Marese Langan

The Artist - Julie Hewett, Cydney Cornell
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 - Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
Hugo-  Morag Ross, Jan Archibald
My Week With Marilyn - Jenny Shircore

SOUND

WINNER: Hugo - Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley

The Artist - Nadine Muse, Gérard Lamps, Michael Krikorian
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 - James Mather, Stuart Wilson, Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy-  John Casali, Howard Bargroff, Doug Cooper, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley
War Horse - Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Richard Hymns

EDITING

WINNER: Senna - Gregers Sall, Chris King

The Artist-  Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
Drive - Mat Newman
Hugo - Thelma Schoonmaker
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy - Dino Jonsater

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

WINNER: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2- Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn- Joe Letteri
Hugo - Rob Legato, Ben Grossman, Joss Williams

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes - Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White

War Horse - Ben Morris, Neil Corbould


SHORT FILM

WINNER: Pitch Black Heist - John Maclean, Gerardine O'Flynn

Chalk - Martina Amati, Gavin Emerson, James Bolton, Ilaria Bernardini
Mwansa The Great-  Rungano Nyoni, Gabriel Gauchet
Only Sound Remains-  Arash Ashtiani, Anshu Poddar
Two and Two - Babak Anvari, Kit Fraser, Gavin Cullen

SHORT ANIMATION

WINNER: A Morning Stroll - Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

Abuelas - Afarin Eghbal, Kasia Malipan, Francesca Gardiner
Bobby Yeah - Robert Morgan

ORIGINAL MUSIC

WINNER: The Artist - Ludovic Bource

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
HUGO - Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Alberto Iglesias
War Horse - John Williams

THE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD (Voted For By The Public)

WINNER: Adam Deacon

Chris Hemsworth
Chris O’Dowd
Eddie Redmayne
Tom Hiddleston

Lost In Translation: Blu Ray Review

Rating: PG
Released by Universal Home Ent

There's just something about Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation - and it's not just the lingering shot of Scarlett Johansson's behind.

Bill Murray's Bob Harris and Johansson's Charlotte are two Americans in Tokyo. Harris is a movie star and Charlotte is in town for the ride with her hubby.

These two lost souls connect after a chance meeting and friendship blossoms as they head through the bright lights of the foreign city.

First time on Blu Ray and looking very good on the format, Lost In Translation is still as joyous as it was when it was first released nearly a decade ago. Murray and Johansson are great - with Murray using his deadpan ways to maximum effect and plenty of laugh out loud moments.

Simply dreamy and utterly adorable, this release needs to be in your collection without any shadow of a doubt.

Extras: Deleted scenes, brief interviews, music video and on location

Rating:

The Trip: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Madman

Simply brilliant,this two handed comedy road trip piece stars the denizens of UK comedy Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan as accentuated versions of themselves.

Coogan enlists Brydon to come along and be his partner while he reviews some of the UK's finest restuarants in the North of the country. But with Coogan's fragile ego and his desperate attempt to claw into the major leagues of Hollywood,he soon finds that Brydon's incessant (and spot on impressions) bring out his insecurities and self loathing,causing him to clash at his long term friend.

Very few words can do this film justice-it's sparkingly funny,subtly played and stunningly shot by Michael Winterbottom; there's laugh out loud moments and while Brydon and Coogan are spot on in their insouciant squabbling,it's clear the audience are the winners in this film because I guarantee you won't be more entertained in the 2 hours that plays out in front of your eyes.See this film and then seek out the series on which it's based.

Marvellous work.

Extras: Deleted scenes, trailer and featurette

Rating:

Submarine: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Madman

Richard Ayoade aka Moss from The IT Crowd has a stunning directorial debut in this coming of age tale set in Wales.
Craig Roberts is duffel-coated 15 year old Oliver Tate, a teen who's in love with a schoolmate and whose obsession with the state of his parents' marriage may end up sending him to an early grave.

Tate is an awkward kid -he reckons he's the bees' knees and is in denial with the reality that he's uncool and socially backward. However, that doesn't stop him from beginning a relationship with Yasmin Paige's Jordana.

Sally Hawkins is the mum, Noah Taylor the depressed dad and Paddy Considine, a mulleted mystic and ex-flame who could cause the rift between Tate's parents to grow.
Tate decides to try and get the family to rekindle their relationship and love - with sometimes depressingly humorous consequences.

Moments of laugh out loud dry humour are interlaced with stylish and stylistic film making, freeze frames and jump cuts as Ayoade shows he's a serious talent to be reckoned with.

Deft,delightful and deliciously dark at times, this is a sensational debut and one which showcases the very best of the international talent.

Submarine is a joy and a delight which cries for you to love it - perhaps a little too hard at times, but it's difficult to resist its many charms.

Extras: Commentaries, Q&As with cast and crew, interviews, message from Ben Stiller (!!), deleted and extended scenes - a great package.

Rating:

Kill List: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Madman

Devilishly fresh and dazzlingly good, Kill List is about two hitmen; one of whom hasn't take on a job since an unexplained incident in Kiev 8 months ago - and whose domestic life is teetering on the brink as the financial crises begin to bite.

The pair are offered one more job and take it - it should in theory be simple - 3 names to be killed on a list given to them.

But what should be simple turns deliciously difficult and creepy as this superlative and creepy horror begins to play out.

Feeling a little lo-fi and cinema verite, it's a brilliant ride (although some may question the end) which feels decidedly real as it explores relationships,morality,guilt and ultimately something very evil. This is the kind of film which knocks you off your feet and causes you to remember why you love film-it's also one which screams at you to see it again after the end to piece it all together.

If you miss this,you are really missing something wonderful and new-a rare thing in this game.

Extras: Audio commentaries with cast and crew, making of, interviews and trailer

Rating:

Elite Squad - The Enemy Within: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Madman

Brazilian thriller which took their box office by storm,this blazing scorching flick sees its protagonist Nascimento taking on the corrupt system which is serving the police, the criminals and the slum gang lords rather than the innocent.

However,he takes on all those who're intent on serving themselves rather than the Rio populace.It starts with a high energy police siege within jail and ends with Nascimento being apparently shot to pieces in a car.

Throw in scenes of helicopters flying up over kids playing footy and it's like the A Team on steroids. The macho posturing and blasting soundtrack makes this an action film which will appeal to many; Wagner Moura's steely determination is a great foil against the corrupt regional cops and the tension keeps it all blazing - as well as the guns too.

The energy levels are pacy and with a pounding soundtrack,this is a high octane thrill which will keep you entertained.There's hints of this sequel spawning another film but we'll have to see..

Extras: Behind the scenes, cast and crew interviews and international trailer

Rating: