The Blind Side (2009)

When I heard that Sandra Bullock was getting critical acclaim for a performance in a movie, I’ll admit that I was surprised. So I went into this film on the back of a lot of hype and not entirely sure what to expect.

What I saw was a little disappointing. It felt like the kind of corny American TV film that you catch at 3am. While the story did grip me and keep me intrigued it never felt like it belonged on the big screen.

But I didn’t go to see this film for any other reason than to check out the Oscar-worthy performance, and while I haven’t seen all of her competitors I can see why she won. This was Sandra Bullock’s Erin Brockovich. She took the role by the horns and rode it all the way to victory. A great performance in a mediocre film.

7/10

Date Night (2010)

I got the opportunity to see a film that would normally pass me by and I’m glad I got to. I have always loved Steve Carell since I saw him steal the show from Jim Carrey in the talking in tongues scene from Bruce Almighty. Every film I have seen him in since I cannot help but find his style hilarious.

And then there is Tina Fey, an actress I rarely see in films but have loved since seeing her in Mean Girls (which she also wrote).

So, Date Night. A film that on paper shouldn’t work. A couple get in trouble in New York when they get caught up in a case of mistaken identity on the eponymous date night. What made the film worth watching though were these two comedic talents going all out. An average film made good by great comedians.

7/10

Kick-Ass (2010)

From the very first time I saw Stardust I was looking forward to the next film from Matthew Vaughn. Then the trailer for Kick-Ass hit the Net and I was officially excited. This was a film that was going to merge comedy and superhero and might actually work.

Well, at times it did work but at others it really didn’t. Sadly it was the central character of Kick-Ass that was the most annoying. He had one scene that stood out but after that I was looking forward to him going away so we could focus on the equally brilliant Chloe Moretz, Nicholas Cage or Mark Strong.

It was a frustrating film because of this. This film would have been better if it had been called Hit-Girl or Big Daddy as they were worth the entrance of admission.

7/10

Whip It (2010)

I love Ellen Page. There is something about her that I find appeals to me. If I see her name in a film it makes me pay attention. For someone so young she has a lot of charisma and screen presence as the excellent Juno proved.

So when I heard that Drew Barrymore had directed a comedy about roller skating starring Ellen Page I was immediately interested. Unfortunately this film showed that Ellen alone cannot carry a film and Drew should stick to acting.

This was mediocre at best. It was clichéd, lacking in laughs and nothing I hadn’t seen 100 times before (although this was the first time on roller skates). Disappointing.

5/10

I keep up to date with the latest film news through a couple of film websites but I also choose to listen to two film podcasts:

Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s Film Review

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lvdrj

This is by far my favourite podcast out of all I listen to. It is the one I regularly look forward to every week and am sad when Dr Kermode or Dr Mayo are on holiday as it is just not the same. The way these two banter between each other is brilliant and the film reviews are always entertaining. I even got the opportunity to go to Leeds and see a live version of the show which was brilliant.

While I may not always agree with the opinions given I don’t primarily listen to find out what to watch, I listen for the pure, unadulterated wittertainment.

Cinemagogue (Mars Hill Church)

http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/cinemagogue

Pastor James Harleman of Mars Hill Church regular shows films and chats about them before and afterwards from the Christian perspective. I find him very entertaining and he highlights things in the films that I would have otherwise missed. If you are a Christian and a film lover I recommend you catch a listen.

View the entire series

I wasn’t too fussed about 3D either. I saw Beowulf in 3D and it gave me a headache and it just seemed like a gimmick that got in the way of the beauty of film. So I decided to see Avatar in good old-fashioned 2D and then see it in 3D later if I liked it enough.

When the credits rolled at the end of the film my mind did not settle on the gorgeous special effects which is what the main attraction seemed to be. I was drawn to what was a very simple but gripping storyline. A master storyteller has returned to the art he left over 10 years ago and has not forgotten what is important in a film.

The plot is hardly original but that doesn’t matter if it is done well. Humans have discovered a mineral on a planet in another solar system (distractingly called unobtainium) which sells for an awful lot of money. So the capitalists are out to dig up as much as they can, as quickly as they can. However, the planet the ore is on (actually it is a moon called Pandora) is a forest planet inhabited by all number of savage creatures as well as the Navi who are a humanoid race very similar to elves in their appearance and respect of the land.

One tribe of Navi have a home in a giant tree (and I mean GIANT) which just happens to be on top of the biggest deposit of unobtainium around. So a band of scientists are tasked with finding a diplomatic solution to getting rid of the Navi so the diggers can come in. To better integrate themselves with the natives (and also be able to breathe the atmosphere) Navi bodies are grown (called avatars) that the scientists transfer their brains to temporarily, Matrix-style.

Into this setup comes the paraplegic Jake Sully. An ex-marine who’s twin brother has died and who now has to step into the shoes of his genetically matched avatar. This is where the fun begins as Jake is accepted in to the tribe where others before him have not and he learns their ways.

What ensues is Dances with Wolves style “seeing things from the other side” and an internal battle between his human self and his Navi self.

I won’t spoil how it turns out (although it is hardly surprising) but I can tell you that it is 160 minutes of sheer brilliance.

But how can I mention the film without speaking about the beautiful effects? James Cameron has created a piece of art when creating Pandora. The planet is intricate and gorgeous from its gravity defying mountains to its leaves that light up when touched. It is a treat for the eyes that is so layered there is always something amazing to look at on screen somewhere.

So having almost applauded it the first time I saw it I knew I had to see it in 3D to tell once and for all if the extra dimension is worth it. I can say that 3D does what you think it would. It adds extra depth to the scenes and really is the future of cinema. However, as a film lover I would still much rather see a film in the comfort of 2D. Until they can develop a technique of producing 3D films without the need for special glasses it will never be all it can be. The glasses are a distraction and I would much rather enjoy a film in 2D.

So, in the end, Avatar is a stunning achievement by Mr Cameron and I look forward to the proposed sequels. District 9 takes the accolade as my favourite film of 2009 but this comes a close second.

[9/10]

I had never read the children’s book so did not know what to expect. I knew the director Spike Jonze was not known for run-of-the-mill films so I knew I wasn’t going to get a simple kids film.

The basic story is that young boy Max has a fight with his mum and runs away. But he doesn’t just physically run away he mentally runs away across a vast ocean and into his imagination where the titular wild things are. These giant monsters accept Max as their new king and play games together, build a giant fort amongst other things.

The puppetry is amazing and with only minimal CG to make the facial expression of the monster a little more believable this is a stunning achievement and goes to show that physical special effects still hold an important part of this world. An Oscar nod is certain but whether it can hold off the mighty Avatar awaits to be seen.

So what did I think of it? Sadly I have to report that I just didn’t get it. Either I was too intelligent for it or or not intelligent enough I can’t tell. Either it went way over my head or way under it. I was bored for large chunks of the film and while I could see that the monsters could have been the various parts of Max’s psyche (his rage, his shyness, etc.) I couldn’t settle into it and found myself checking my watch after only 30 minutes.

Now I’m not saying it is a terrible film, I was just not the correct audience for it. I have heard some people say that kids will get its portrayal of the imagination of youth while others have said that it is clearly a film about kids and not a kids film.

I can’t be sure but would but would love to hear what other people thought of it. Especially if they saw it with some youngsters as well.

[5/10]

So I had been looking forward to 2012, his latest end of the world flick, all year. I had heard various reports, some saying it was awful, some saying it was fun. I went in knowing that it had a 2.5 hour running time and ready for what I hoped would be a mindless disaster film similar to The Day After Tomorrow.

What I saw was a total surprise; I haven’t laughed so much through a “serious” film before. It was hilarious! The acting was really bad and they all seemed to be taking it so seriously (except Woody Harrelson appearing to be the only person who realised how bad the film was and played a very entertaining wacko).

The story running through it involved by far the luckiest family ever to have graced the big screen. They always seemed to be in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Be it to hear all they need to now to predict and escape the impending disaster or to catch the one and only plane out of Vegas (with a capable pilot tagging along for good measure). With all the luck they were experiencing I would have just stood still as the whole world would have fallen apart around them but they would have managed to stand on the one piece of Earth that didn’t collapse!

The special effects were good but far too over the top. The sequence of California being destroyed as a limo manages to escape being the pinnacle.

What worried me though was that the cinema I was in was full of people that were staring intently at the film and taking it all so seriously. Could they not tell how comically bad it was?!

So if watched as a dead-serious action film it is beyond rubbish. There are clichés piled on clichés and some of the worst dialogue I have ever heard. However, if watched as an unintentional comedy it is actually very very funny!

For me it is a one watch only film as I don’t think I can bring myself to watch it again. Unless time wipes my memory of how bad it was.

[4/10]

Spoiler Alert: While there is no surprise twist in this film, in order to review this film I will be talking about how it ends.

Firstly, a brief plot synopsis. (500) Days of Summer tells the tale of the 500 days that greeting card creator Tom Hansen (played brilliantly by the ever watchable Joseph Gordon-Levitt) spends in and out of a relationship with quirky Summer Finn (played wide eyed and perfectly wacky by Zooey Deschanel).

However, rather than play out from day 1 to day 500 this film jumps and skips around through the relationship. One minute Tom is skipping around madly in love on day (53) and then we zoom forward to day (234) and he is trying to understand why the relationship is over and then we are taken right back to the first time he ever sees her on day (1).

It took a little while to get used to this jumping around but soon it became normal and gave the film that “something different” to help it stand out from the crowd.

But this is also no normal rom-com. At the start Tom believes in “the one” and thinks he has found her in Summer. Summer on the other hand doesn’t believe in relationships. So for a while they seem to be getting on so well and Tom is starting to tear down some of Summer’s walls but then, seemingly out of the blue, Summer decides to end it. This tears Tom apart and he just can’t understand why.

This causes Tom to re-evaluate love and he comes to the conclusion that Summer is right: Love doesn’t really exist and actually life is painful and we just have to enjoy it while we can. Summer however ends up falling in love herself and getting married to a man she meets in a coffee shop! Suddenly she starts to believe in love and fate. A complete reversal in roles!

I really wanted to love this film when I walked into the cinema but when I left I felt incredibly sad. I pondered this emotion for a while and then it occurred to me why I felt like I didn’t like the film.

(I’m going to get fairly personal now so be warned!)

The reason this film left me feeling so down was because it actually reminded me a little too much of a relationship I had been in myself a number of years ago. Now this is not to say it was exactly the same but there were definite themes that came a little too close for comfort.

Once upon a time I met a woman who immediately captured my heart. I fell madly in love. The fact that I am now single says that this relationship didn’t last though. I came out of the relationship experiencing every emotion I knew existed (and some I didn’t). And then less than a year (I think) after we parted she got married to someone else.

I need to state clearly though that I am still great friends with this person and I love them to bits. I see clearly that we were not meant to be together but that didn’t stop the relationship from having a huge impact on me. For one it was a result of this relationship that my eyes were opened to the possibility that God and Jesus might exist (read my testimony if you want to know more). God knew exactly what He was doing and I really believe that I am a much better and stronger man today because of it. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t really hurt at the time.

So watching this film was like a sub-conscious reminder of that time in my life. I was feeling the emotions of Tom as he was feeling them on screen and I was hoping that he and Summer would stay together even though I knew in my heart that they wouldn’t.

As soon as I realised why I felt like this I could appreciate the film for what it was which is a very intelligent, funny and different romantic comedy.

I just hope God brings me an Autumn of my own one day! (A reference that you won’t get until you see the film).

[7/10]

There was a catch though, the cinema only held 270 people and, to ensure a full house, the BBC issued 600 tickets. In order to make sure we got a place we travelled the four hour journey north on Thursday night and had the pleasure of staying overnight in a hotel in the centre or Leeds. This was so we could wake up fresh and head over to the cinema for 10.00 (4.5 hours before the advertised start time). We weren’t sure when the queue would start so when we arrived at 10.00 we were surprised to find no queue at all (although there were some BBC crew setting up). After spending an hour wandering around the streets of Leeds we came back to the cinema to find three people in the queue. It was time to start our wait.

I couldn’t believe it when by 1.00 there still was only around 50 people waiting. However, between 1.30 and 2.30 everyone else turned up. Some people even turned up dead-on 2.30! How they expected to get in while leaving it that late is beyond me!

Now while queuing 3 hours might sound like madness, it was a lovely sunny day, we got to chat to Mark Kermode early on in the afternoon as he arrived, we got interviewed for the Culture Show and, best of all, we got seats in the second row (the front row was saved for “special guests”).

The show itself was excellent. I find them so funny when I listen to their podcast and they didn’t disappoint live. It was so good that I would be very keen to go and watch again next year (if we can get tickets again of course).

The live show was followed by a special showing of one of Mark’s favourite films: Silent Running. I will post my review of the film shortly.

It was a great day and lots of fun. Definitely a day I will remember fondly.

When it was announced that he would be making another comic book adaptation (300 was originally a Frank Miller comic) I was very excited to say the least. The more I found out about the Watchman comic though, the more excited I became. This was apparently no normal comic book but one of the most well loved and respected comic books of all time. But has Zack done it justice?

Watchmen is set in an alternate 1980s where “superheroes” had been around since the 1940s but are now all retired, Nixon is still the president and the world is on the brink of nuclear war. Out of this boils a tale of politics, love, deception, action, betrayal and sadness over a barely noticeable 160 minutes.

It is a trick of Zack’s to cast either relative unknowns or non-mainstream actors in his films. There are no really recognisable names in Watchmen however he has cast people who fit the roles without distracting from them. Sometimes I think it is better to not have a known face in a film as it is easier to take the actor as the character they are portraying.

Firstly there is Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the Comedian. A nasty hero who’s murder is the catalyst for the rest of the story. He takes pleasure in raping, killing and drinking. Not your typical superhero! Whenever he is on screen you can’t help but pay attention (if only to see what low he is going to stoop to next).

Then there is Billy Crudup as Dr Manhattan. The only true “super-being” in the film, he is a scientist who, through an experiment that went wrong, has been converted to a blue being of pure energy (or something) that can teleport, grow in size, manipulate matter and replicate himself. The character is meant to be void of emotion and all about science and fact but you can see (through some very subtle acting) the anguish behind the passive eyes. An amazing performance by Billy Crudup.

Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) is the super smart, super fast and now super rich ex-superhero who through revealing his true identity to the world has spawned a corporate empire and is now working with Dr Manhattan to create a method of sustainable energy in an attempt to end the war.

The only female super hero is the young and beautiful Silk Spectre played by Malin Akerman. She’s the daughter of a previous hero and you get the impression she didn’t get much chance to be a superhero before they were all called to retire. She’s in a relationship with Dr Manhattan (talk about an odd relationship!) but seems to want more from life.

Patrick Wilson is almost unrecognisable as the Nite Owl; a thoughtful ex-hero who doesn’t seem to fit with the rest. He is intelligent and the only true good-guy out of the lot. He seems happy in his retirement but, like the Silk Spectre, is longing and looking for more from life.

I’ve left the best until last though: Rorschach (played superbly by Jackie Earle Haley) is a detective of sorts and the old partner of the Nite Owl. He is our narrator for the story (based on excerpts from his journal) and is also the most riveting when he is on screen. It is an absolutely amazing performance and is the real life blood of the film.

So, enough background, how was the film? Every review I have read or heard has criticised it for missing some of the themes of the original comic. While it may have done this, as I have not read the comic I didn’t miss them and thought the film was ace! The story was original and gripping. The characters where definitely non-stereotypical and each one had their own story to intrigue you. The special effects were subtle but effective; I judge good CG but how much I don’t notice it and I don’t remember noticing it once. It had a great period-related soundtrack (although the 80s take on Hallelujah during a distracting sex scene was a bad point).

There was a moment in the film where Dr Manhattan is talking about his ex-girlfriend…

She says I’m like a God now. I tell her I don’t think there is a God. And if there is, I’m nothing like him

This moment stood out for me. Here is a man (if you can even still call him a man) who is immortal, has powers beyond imagination, can be anywhere at once and who people are starting to think of as a god and yet he openly admits that if there is a God then he is nothing like Him. The rang true with me because the big thing that Dr Manhattan is missing is the thing the God has in abundance: Love. God is love. I thought this was a really insightful thing for the character to say and I wonder if the director/author knew the truth they were saying when they put it in the story.

I think Zack has done a great job and he still has a 100% directing record in my book. He never produces masterpieces but his films always entertain to a very high standard. Keep up the good work!

[8/10]

I went into this film expecting to be wowed and amazed. I had heard nothing but praise and am expecting it to be the big winner at the Oscars. However, with that much hype, how can it possibly live up to expectations? It was beautiful to look at; the slums of India came alive with lots of vibrant colours and people. It had a superb soundtrack that made my ears prick up when the first drum beat kicked in. I even noticed the editing in the film that was used perfectly to jump between the present and into history.

So, what’s it about? Basically (without giving too much away) it follows a man called Jamal on the Indian version of the gameshow Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? He is just a man from the slums but has got to the very last question and is now being interrogated by the police to find out how he is cheating. However, he claims he just knew all the answer and dredges up things from his past (mainly bad things) that show how.

That’s it in a nutshell. It follows him as a young boy trying to survive, up the a teenager trying to become a man and finally as an adult.

Unfortunately I couldn’t watch this film without thinking about City of God which is about growing up in the slums of Brazil. City of God knocked me off my feet whe I first saw it and is a much better film than Slumdog. While Slumdog adds a fresh twist to the slum-tale it still felt like it was the same underlying story being retold.

Judged on its own merits though it was a very good film and makes me look forward again to what Danny Boyle will give us next.

8/10