Lincoln: DVD Review

Lincoln: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by 20th Century Fox Home Ent

Daniel Day-Lewis takes on the role of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States of America. Choosing to zero in on the last few months of PotUS' life and set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, it's the story of how he decided he wanted to abolish slavery by passing the 13th Amendment in the US constitution. It's also the tale of the fractures between the Republicans and the Democrats as Lincoln looks to get this bill through - come what may.

Lincoln is like watching a history lesson brought vividly to life before your very eyes.

It's also one which, if you don't have more than a basic grasp of American history, could sail over your head. Occasionally, it's like a somewhat stuffy school lesson as it's quite dialogue heavy and will require you to pay attention over 150 minute running time. This sounds like a couple of criticisms being levelled at the film, and it's not directly; merely, just a warning that this veers more into the worthy but dull territory.  

Thankfully, in among a sea of bearded and relatively faceless US officials who swoop in and out of the film at on so many occasions, it's one man's performance which stands head and shoulders above everyone else. Thanks to mightily impressive make up, a scholarly and erudite performance by a soft spoken Day Lewis, you can't help but watch him as the political machinations and extreme talk of deals plays out on the screen. But he also breathes life into a character whose attitude to his rivals was not one of scorn, but one of respecting their viewpoints - and by doing so, it makes Lincoln more of a rounded man than a man doggedly pursuing his own selfish political gains.

While retaining a lot of the backroom politics and information (and by letting it play out naturally as opposed to some quick fix deals), Spielberg's also wisely managed to humanise the man giving the audience outside of America (and outside of those who've studied Lincoln) a vital in road that's needed for the duration of the quite long film. All in all, Lincoln (based on the book Team Of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin) stands by the utterly wonderful character performance of Day Lewis, which anchors this moment in history which defined America - but it's a long road to that in the entire duration of the film. Expect it to a) leave you feeling a slight amount of inadequacy on your knowledge of American history and b) take home some accolades as the awards season begins.

Extras: Journey to Lincoln, Crafting the past

Rating:

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Despicable Me 2: Movie Review

Despicable Me 2: Movie Review

Cast: Steve Carell, Ken Jeong, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt
Director: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud

In 2010, a fresh piece of animation landed on our screens, mixing madness and madcap with a bit of heart - and a lot of yellow minions.

That film was Despicable Me and rightly so, it was a fun and exciting time at the cinema. It was also incredibly popular, so there's no surprise that a sequel was commissioned.

In Despicable Me 2, Steve Carell's Gru is back - this time round, he's now a doting single father to his adopted daughters, Agnes, Margo and Edith. Pursued by some of the single women in the neighbourhood, Gru's content with life.

But when Dr Nefario (Brand) quits Gru's world, saying he yearns to be bad, Gru begins to question his life. And when he's recruited into the Anti-Villains League by Agent Lucy Wilde (Wiig) to help track down an evil villain living in the mall, he thinks he's found his calling.

However, Gru's about to discover several things which will rock the foundations of his world to their very core.

Despicable Me 2 is a little bit of a disappointment, when compared to the greatness which was the first film.

It's a perfectly acceptable choice for the school holidays and the youngsters will adore its madcap antics and colourful animation, but it feels a little like it's lost some of the shine which made it so special before.

Principally, it's to do with the story, which in itself, isn't quite strong enough to sustain the interest level of the adults. While the cast are perfectly adequate, the humour and strong touch points of the first film are missing and the whole thing feels a little flat. Sequences with Gru and his mission are presented nicely, but lack the punch that's needed of such a character - Gru has more fun being bad - and in its place, there's a lot of lunacy from the minions who are rolled out to accentuate scene changes and provide comic relief (which they do in spades and are very funny for it)

There's no real emotional pull from Gru - he's more fun as a villain rather than a doting dad, who's losing the plot because his eldest adopted daughter has discovered boys. He also needs a stronger nemesis to square off against to give him some bite - and unfortunately in this one, there's nothing as strong as Jason Segel's Vector. And there's certainly no feeling that there's a real and plausible relationship between Gru and Agent Wilde - there's no moment of epiphany other than something which feels forced.

The minions though provide the lion's share of the laughter - and it's clear their spin off film is likely to be a massive success given their popularity with the younger end of the audience.

Despicable Me 2 is a perfectly fine school holiday film - its animation is lush and exciting. It's just a shame that the story doesn't follow that lead. If anything, it's more Despicable Meh.Though, I'm sure it won't stop Despicable Me 3 from happening (or should that be Despicable M3?)

Rating:

Movie 43: DVD Review

Movie 43: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

When a film is so reviled in the critics' world and even called the Citizen Kane of awful, you always wonder where the vitriol is coming from. Movie 43 is such a film, and one train wreck which is rightfully receiving a major panning.

Its loose premise is that a washed up movie producer (played by Dennis Quaid) is so desperate to get his movie made, that he takes a studio executive (Greg Kinnear) hostage and forces him to listen to his crazed and deranged movie ideas. The catch? Those pitches involve some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

If you are a fan of extremely puerile humour, and set ups that have very little pay off plus are an adolescent boy, then Movie 43 is for you. As this series of 13 "interconnected" stories are rolled out, each of them suffers from a lack of any real humour or panache that you actually begin to wonder why the actors involved (who have some pretty impressive calibre) are even part of what's playing out - do the powers that be have some real quality blackmail on the cast to use?

There's the likes of Hugh Jackman with a pair of testicles hanging from his neck, Halle Berry going to extremes for truth or dare, Gerard Butler as a leprechaun, Anna Faris begging to be pooped on by her lover - the list of degradation and bad taste goes on without a hint of humour in sight. It may be the chance for such quality actors to act in such juvenile ways proved way too beguiling, but I can't fathom why they didn't realise it just wasn't as funny as it could have been. The only two segments which vaguely hit the spot are Emma Stone and Kieran Culkin as a couple trying to sort stuff out in a supermarket and an ad which claims small children working in vending machines have lives too - so, not exactly setting the bar high, but, trust me, when you see the rest of what's on offer, this is the cinematic pinnacle of this offering. Even though the segments are short, there's another terrible one lining up to take its place, with a major Hollywood star looking to lose an ounce of their own dignity.

With predictable pay offs, a lack of laughs despite occasional raunchiness, it's easy to see why Movie 43 is being roundly panned and I'd advise you to think twice about whether you want to go and see it. The attempts at gross out humour fail miserably and it makes the American Pie franchise look like Shakespeare and Benny Hill and Borat seem sophisticated.

It is, without a doubt, the worst film of 2013 - and if anything else reaches this level at any stage this year, it'll be a sad indictment of the death of the magic of cinema.
Extras: Find your daughter

Rating:

World War Z: Movie Review

World War Z: Movie Review

Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Einos, James Badge Dale, Daniella Kertesz
Director: Marc Forster

Once again, the apocalypse is upon us.

This time, it's potentially down to Brad Pitt to save the day after a viral outbreak turns the global populace into the chomping undead in an adaptation of Max Brooks' World War Z.

Pitt is Gerry Lane, a UN inspector brought in despite having left the organisation when the world's overcome - and he alone can help identify Patient Zero and potentially source a cure to save the human race. So, forced to leave his family with the military, off he sets on a global trip which takes him from Newark to South Korea via Jerusalem before finally ending up in Wales. (Yes, I just said Wales)

But as he tries to track down what caused it all, at every turn it appears that the virus could be about to beat him.

World War Z is a tense, thrilling, nerve-shredding ride in places - and curiously lacking in logic and sense in others.

It's also frenzied, frenetic and intense during its set pieces, which get underway very quickly after the non- too subtle ramming home of the fact that Gerry's now a family man (he makes pancakes for the family while watching details of the outbreak out of the corner of his eye on the TV). A cross town journey turns into something hellish within the first 10 minutes of screen time and then doesn't let up for a burst of edge-of-your-seat tension. As scene-setting stuff goes, it's right up there with some of the best as it instantly tells you everything you need to know about this post-apocalyptic world coming directly after such calm start. Foreboding is everywhere with a distorted voice on the radio intoning that "Containment is a fail" and hinting that the worst is yet to come.

And yet, once the story actually kicks in, it's actually a little lacking on the human side as Lane's globe trotting gets underway; he's torn asunder from his family that he's spent the first 20 minutes trying to protect and it robs the film of the emotional pull and personal danger that it needs. Although there are hints of tensions with the military, they're never fully explored or dramatically exploited, which is to the screenplay's detriment.

Pitt's perfectly suited to the role but it's a series of video game style moments which are sparingly sown together and narratively weak - flee the city, escape to the roof of the tower block, follow the troops on a raid through Z infected territory (Zombie Dark Thirty anyone?) and so on - which make it difficult to fully engage with. But that said, the short and often brutal bursts of intense suspense and knuckle gripping terror during the terrific set pieces work quite effectively though.

As for the creatures themselves, they're a fast, feral and ferocious bunch; contorting initially in horrific pain before becoming a speedy demon wanting to take you out. Basically, they're similar in look to the walkers on  The Walking Dead but not quite as rotting. There had been concerns of CGI creakiness but I have to say I saw no real signs of that - a terrific moment in a set piece in Jerusalem sees the Zees clambering the wall like rabid ants desperate to get to their victims.

Thankfully, the film in general spares the blood and gore of these types of thrillers and concentrates more on the intensity and suspense rather than going for the obvious moments. (Though that may disappoint some)

A final sequence on a plane plays into everyone's basic fears about flying before the film lapses into a horror cliche and a series of darkened corridors for its stretching credibility denouement. Coupled with a few lapses in logic and a solution which is a stretch, you find yourself taken out of the action a little and distracted from what's playing out. Add into that a lack of real backstory as to why Gerry's the expert everyone's been looking for and you find these niggles tend to play at you once you've left the cinema.

Pulling in the visual style of Steven Soderbergh's Contagion (drenched in yellows) and using 3D wisely to bolster the backgrounds (rather than relying on a zombie jumping out of the screen - of which there is but one shot), World War Z overall, is a success. It blends thrills, spills and suspense to form something which leaves the heart and adrenaline pumping even if occasionally, the action and consequently story, slow to a crawl once the chillingly effective set pieces have ended.

Rating:

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa trailer is here

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa trailer is here

Steve Coogan reprises his role as Alan Partridge in a new film coming to the UK in August.

No word yet on when it will hit these shores.

Doctor Who Series 7 Part 2: Blu Ray Review

Doctor Who Series 7 Part 2: Blu Ray Review

Rating: PG
Released by BBC and Roadshow

The Doctor's back in this second part of series seven, which will turn out to be Matt Smith's last after it was revealed he's leaving the TARDIS at Christmas this year.

In eight new stories, the Doctor's got a new companion, Clara (played with perkiness by Jenna Louise Coleman) who keeps on dying and and re-appearing. Determined to get to the bottom of the Impossible Girl, the Doc is sent on a series of new adventures.

This time around, it's Snowmen, The Great Intelligence, The Ice Warriors, Cybermen and a ghost story all form the backdrop to this latest batch, which disappointingly don't quite hit the mark as they should.

It's more a case of being asked to care for the fate of a character we don't quite yet know enough to care about and despite the acting being top notch, a few of the tales don't quite hang together. The Cybermen episode disappoints despite the involvement of Neil Gaiman.

But an audacious final episode of the run, introducing John Hurt proffers up some surprises and hints at what could lie ahead for the 50th anniversary - and the departure of Matt Smith as the Doctor.

Extras: Prequels to various eps, a Madame Vastra victorian spin off prequel, children in need special and a look back at the companions

Rating: