enFILM REVIEWS 2009
Friday, 9. October 2009, 13:30:49
Film reviews 2009
WOW!
I've not been to the cinema for ages but my next adventure will be:
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus OUT 16 OCTOBER 2009
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE ( X 2)
The 6th Harry Potter film is absolutely superb, film of the year so far and also the second best HP Film behind Pisoner of Askaban. All the cast step up tot he mark and David Yates really has got to grips with the source material which bolds well for the final films Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2. Alan Rickman is superb as Professor Snape and he really gets to stretch his character in this outing. Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn is a welcome addition to the series and his performance is pretty amazing. I could go on but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, enjoy!
RATING 9.5 out of 10!
PUBLIC ENEMIES
I did enjoy this film starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, Johnny Depp turns in a fine performance as John Dillinger. Michael Mann's film is set during the Great Depression, it focuses on the true story of FBI agent Melvin Purvis's attempt to stop criminals John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd. The action scenes are pretty exciting but sometimes the digital format of the pictures doesn't sit properly with the period the film is meant to be set in and there still seems to be a problems of a smudging when digital cameras pan over the scene quickly! Marion Cotillard is brilliant but underused as Dillinger's girlfriend Billie Frechette.
Overall with some of the big blockbuster films out it is good to go see a decent well made film!
Rating 8 out of 10!
TRANSFORMERS 2 - REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
The latest MICHAEL "CRASH BOOM BANG!" BAY Transformers film is a better fist than his original film, he introduces the MATRIX and JETFIRE to the story. Some of the CGI is pretty good and I liked the MEGATRON/STARSCREAM/DECEPTICON PRIME stuff much more of that would have been better than the McVittie family stuff, I thought the dougnut scene from the first movie was bad but jesus! Overall more Transformers and less Human crap would have been great1 Shia LaBeouf is a yawn as Sam Witwicky and Megan Fox ... Mikaela Banes is just looks like a 35 year old lap dancer! Had Tranformers been directed by someone like Chris NNolan OR SOMEONE WHO LOVED THE MYTHOLOGY then m aybe it would have turned out better.
RATING 7.5 out of 10!
TERMINATOR SALVATION
There have been some quite unfair reviews of this film especially from Doc Kermode who focused on the fact MacG (Charlies Angels 1 and 2) isn't a great director. However putting that aside for a moment I thought the film was a lot of fun and the winks and nudges homages to the original 3 Terminator films were quite good! Christian Bale's intense performance as future regel leader John Connor is great but it is Sam Worthington as cyborg Marcus Wright that steals the show, his performance is unexpectedly very good and he is fact the real action hero of this film. The visual effects and top notch and expect to be blown away by the T800 101 Terminator visual effects which are the highlight of the film. The plot of ht efilm goes like this:
In 2018, John Connor (Christian Bale) leads an attack by the Resistance on a Skynet base. John discovers human prisoners and the plans for the development of a new type of Terminator incorporating living tissue, but is the only apparent survivor of the attack after the base is destroyed in a nuclear explosion. However, Marcus emerges from the wreckage of the base and proceeds on foot to Los Angeles.
Danny Elfman's score is good but like T3 he has pretty much ignored what Brad Fiedel did with his iconic score and not using the Terminator theme he created still seams a mis-judgement, other fanchises have kept the original themes to their benefit!
I look forward to Terminator 5 which much more hope and confidence post T4 than I was before. Maybe James Cameron's genius of The Terminator and T2 Judgement Day may never be beaten but Salvation is a good attempt!
RATING 9 out of 10!
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2
I don't often go and see comedies but I quite enjoyed this latest offering from Ben Stiller. The visual effects were quite good and some of the jokes were quite funny. It's no masterpiece buy hey ho sometimes a throw away movie going experience is fine, check out the squirrel - funny!
RATING 6.5 out of 10!
ANGELS AND DEMONS
This is a much better film of the book than the Da Vinci Code was. I enjoyed it a lot and after accepting it wasn't going to be Dan Brown's fantastic novel I settle dback to appreciate it for what it was. Tom Hanks is great and it worth seeing.
RATING 9 our of 10!
STAR TREK
This re-vamp of the original Star Trek franchise with Kirk, Spock etc is truly amazing and one of my favourite films of the year so far. It is a great story and the acting is top notch!
RATING - WARP FACTOR 9.5 out of 10
X MEN ORIGINS - WOLVERINE
Hugh Jackman puts in a good performance as Wolverine in this prequel to the first X Men film. Whether we needed to see the backstory to Wolverine which was explored in the first two X Men films this is still quite a good yarn and there is a treat at the end for X Men film fans.
Rating 8 out of 10!
KNOWING
The latest offering from Nicolas Caige is the freaky Knowing which isn't that bad but did freak me out a few times and the BURING MOUSSE - WTF! Nick Caige kinda sleepwalks through this film pickin up his pay at the end but the ending is pretty mental and compared so some rubbish I have seen like the Happening it's actually not that bad! A few dodgy CGI in places but the plane crash was like pretty awful to watch!
The plot: In 1959, a competition is held among the students of a new school to celebrate its opening. The contest winner was a girl named Lucinda Embry, who suggested burying a time capsule containing the students' drawings of the future to be opened 50 years later. Lucinda's contribution is a series of seemingly random numbers which she continued to write, until her teacher took her paper away. During the ceremony, Lucinda leaves. Police do a search for her at the school overnight, and the teacher finds Lucinda in a closet, scratching her fingers bloody, the remaining numbers on the closet door.
Fifty years later, the time capsule is opened and the pictures are handed to the current students. A boy named Caleb receives Lucinda's envelope. His father Jonathan "John" Koestler, professor of astrophysics, doesn't think much of Caleb's envelope, until he notices a single random number sequence which contains the date of the World Trade Center attacks as well as the death toll of the attack. Further examination made him realizes the numbers are a list containing the dates and death tolls of every major disaster over the past fifty years, with three that have not occurred yet.
Rating 7.5 out of 10!
WATCHMEN
I came to the Watchmen not knowing very much about the hype surrounding the 1980's graphic novel sensation which is highly regarded so amungst the fans there was a lot of expectation about this on screen adaptation directed by the guy who brought us the brilliant 300!
Here is a bit of background....Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder. Based on the 1986-1987 comic book limited series Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the film adaptation stars Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matt Frewer, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Stephen McHattie, Laura Mennell, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson. Set in an alternate-history 1985, Watchmen follows a group of former vigilantes as tensions heighten between the United States and the Soviet Union while an investigation of an apparent conspiracy against them uncovers something even more grandiose and sinister.
The first thing is to say is at 160 minutes this is a long film and the dvd release is meant to be an extended cut. I enjoyed this film and while there are some slow scenes the pace quickly builts at the end having not read the comic I wasn't expecting "THAT ENDING!" This is an 18 certificate film and the graphic violence and gutts and gore are pretty well done and there is actually a few laughs. This is definitely a film I must watch again to decide whether I love this as much as I think I could. It isn't the Dark Knight ot Batman Begins but it is a very well done comic adaptation! I thought Jackie Earle Haley as Walter Kovacs / Rorschach was very good and his performance is up there with Heath Ledger as the Joker in TDK! The cast were good and the visual effects and fighting sequences look stunning! I recommend is deeply...
RATING 9 out of 10!
THE WRESTLER
Mickey Rourke turns in a superb performance in the Wrestler and this is a very good film and deserves to be seen by more people. I had to go to a small independent cinema in Abedreen to see it because none of the large cinema chains are showing it!
Mickey's rise and fall in his personal life makes this role perfect for him. The plot goes Robin Ramzinski, ring name Randy "The Ram" Robinson, (Mickey Rourke) is a professional wrestler who was a major star in the 1980s, but is now years past his prime and wrestling on the weekends for various independent wrestling promotions in the Elizabeth, New Jersey area. After a show, a promoter proposes a 20th anniversary rematch with his most notable opponent, the Ayatollah (Ernest Miller), who now owns a used car dealership in Arizona. Their first match together sold out Madison Square Garden, and Randy agrees, wishfully thinking this high-profile match could help him get back to the top. Unfortunately as his health fails and he befriends a pole dancer played brilliantly by Marisa Tomei as Cassidy / Pam, and tries to repair the damaged relationship with his daughter played by Evan Rachel Wood as Stephanie Ramzinski also turns in a fine performance as the bitter young daughter. I recommend this film and it is a life story and isn't really a film about wrestling!
RATING 9 out of 10!
GRAN TORINO
The lastest Clint Eatswood film which he stars in and directs is a real cracker and the ending is brilliant. The supporting cast are pretty good, some critics have said they are weak! There is talk this will be Clint's last film as an actor - I hope this isn't the case but if it were it would be a fitting ending to an awsome acting career - never mind his success as a Directer!
RATING 9 out of 10!
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BEJAMIN BUTTON
I came to this film being a huge fan of David Dincher's horrow film Seven which also starred Brad Pitt. This is a completely different type of film. The story goes that this is the rale of Benjamin Button who lives his life backwards. Visually it is stunning the effects used to make Pitt looks older/younger are sensational and there are great performances from Pitt and Cate Blanchett. The main drawback is the film doesn't have a message and it is unclear what the moral of the story is however this is a very well directed film and the cinematography and visual effects are impressive.
Rating 8.5 out of 10!
VALKYRIE (times 2!)
The new Tom Cruise film about the German plot Valkyrie to kill Adulf Hilter is brilant. A cracking and fascinating film and brilliant cast. Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Carice Van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard, Kevin McNally all put in brilliant performances and Terence Stamp is an absolute legend! Bryan Singer (X men and Superman Returns)does and fine job and John Ottman's score is amazing! Film of 2009 so far!
Rating 9.5 out of 10!
FROST/NIXON
This deserves to be nominated for BEST FILM at the Oscars and although I am bitterly disappointed that Changeling and Dark Knight have been overlooked at least Ron Howard's film about David Frost's famous interview with Richard Nixon is both engaging, well acted and the use of the inetrviews with the key people involved is a great way to drive the story. Frank Langella as Richard Nixon is comelling and draws you totally into a broken man who was President of the United States, and a fine performance by Michael Sheen as David Frost!
Rating 9 out of 10!
SEVEN POUNDS
Will Smith's latest offering is probably his darkest film to date and I can't tell you much about it as it would totally spoil it. All I will say is that I didn't know anything about the film until I went to see it and it is pretty dark. The supporting cast are excellent and Will does turn in a fine performance. I would say though that the ending is pretty dark and questions have to be asked whether the film earned the right to be so dark at the end!
Rating 5 out of 10!
DEFIANCE
This was a really good film and based on a true story set during the second World War that I had never heard before. Daniel Craig is excellent and Jamie Bell yet again demonstrates that he is turing into a fine actor!
Rating 8 out of 10!
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
My first film of 2009 is the new offering from Trainsppointing director Danny Boyle. The film, shot and set in India, follows a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the show WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE and exceeds people's expectations, raising the suspicions of the game show host and the police. The films shows in flashbacks of his early life how Jamal Malik how he is able to answer the series of questions on the show. The film has a strong cast and is brilliantly shot and the sountrack of indian music is very good.
Rating 9 out of 10!
WOW!
I've not been to the cinema for ages but my next adventure will be:
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus OUT 16 OCTOBER 2009
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE ( X 2)
The 6th Harry Potter film is absolutely superb, film of the year so far and also the second best HP Film behind Pisoner of Askaban. All the cast step up tot he mark and David Yates really has got to grips with the source material which bolds well for the final films Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2. Alan Rickman is superb as Professor Snape and he really gets to stretch his character in this outing. Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn is a welcome addition to the series and his performance is pretty amazing. I could go on but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, enjoy!
RATING 9.5 out of 10!
PUBLIC ENEMIES
I did enjoy this film starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, Johnny Depp turns in a fine performance as John Dillinger. Michael Mann's film is set during the Great Depression, it focuses on the true story of FBI agent Melvin Purvis's attempt to stop criminals John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd. The action scenes are pretty exciting but sometimes the digital format of the pictures doesn't sit properly with the period the film is meant to be set in and there still seems to be a problems of a smudging when digital cameras pan over the scene quickly! Marion Cotillard is brilliant but underused as Dillinger's girlfriend Billie Frechette.
Overall with some of the big blockbuster films out it is good to go see a decent well made film!
Rating 8 out of 10!
TRANSFORMERS 2 - REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
The latest MICHAEL "CRASH BOOM BANG!" BAY Transformers film is a better fist than his original film, he introduces the MATRIX and JETFIRE to the story. Some of the CGI is pretty good and I liked the MEGATRON/STARSCREAM/DECEPTICON PRIME stuff much more of that would have been better than the McVittie family stuff, I thought the dougnut scene from the first movie was bad but jesus! Overall more Transformers and less Human crap would have been great1 Shia LaBeouf is a yawn as Sam Witwicky and Megan Fox ... Mikaela Banes is just looks like a 35 year old lap dancer! Had Tranformers been directed by someone like Chris NNolan OR SOMEONE WHO LOVED THE MYTHOLOGY then m aybe it would have turned out better.
RATING 7.5 out of 10!
TERMINATOR SALVATION
There have been some quite unfair reviews of this film especially from Doc Kermode who focused on the fact MacG (Charlies Angels 1 and 2) isn't a great director. However putting that aside for a moment I thought the film was a lot of fun and the winks and nudges homages to the original 3 Terminator films were quite good! Christian Bale's intense performance as future regel leader John Connor is great but it is Sam Worthington as cyborg Marcus Wright that steals the show, his performance is unexpectedly very good and he is fact the real action hero of this film. The visual effects and top notch and expect to be blown away by the T800 101 Terminator visual effects which are the highlight of the film. The plot of ht efilm goes like this:
In 2018, John Connor (Christian Bale) leads an attack by the Resistance on a Skynet base. John discovers human prisoners and the plans for the development of a new type of Terminator incorporating living tissue, but is the only apparent survivor of the attack after the base is destroyed in a nuclear explosion. However, Marcus emerges from the wreckage of the base and proceeds on foot to Los Angeles.
Danny Elfman's score is good but like T3 he has pretty much ignored what Brad Fiedel did with his iconic score and not using the Terminator theme he created still seams a mis-judgement, other fanchises have kept the original themes to their benefit!
I look forward to Terminator 5 which much more hope and confidence post T4 than I was before. Maybe James Cameron's genius of The Terminator and T2 Judgement Day may never be beaten but Salvation is a good attempt!
RATING 9 out of 10!
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2
I don't often go and see comedies but I quite enjoyed this latest offering from Ben Stiller. The visual effects were quite good and some of the jokes were quite funny. It's no masterpiece buy hey ho sometimes a throw away movie going experience is fine, check out the squirrel - funny!
RATING 6.5 out of 10!
ANGELS AND DEMONS
This is a much better film of the book than the Da Vinci Code was. I enjoyed it a lot and after accepting it wasn't going to be Dan Brown's fantastic novel I settle dback to appreciate it for what it was. Tom Hanks is great and it worth seeing.
RATING 9 our of 10!
STAR TREK
This re-vamp of the original Star Trek franchise with Kirk, Spock etc is truly amazing and one of my favourite films of the year so far. It is a great story and the acting is top notch!
RATING - WARP FACTOR 9.5 out of 10
X MEN ORIGINS - WOLVERINE
Hugh Jackman puts in a good performance as Wolverine in this prequel to the first X Men film. Whether we needed to see the backstory to Wolverine which was explored in the first two X Men films this is still quite a good yarn and there is a treat at the end for X Men film fans.
Rating 8 out of 10!
KNOWING
The latest offering from Nicolas Caige is the freaky Knowing which isn't that bad but did freak me out a few times and the BURING MOUSSE - WTF! Nick Caige kinda sleepwalks through this film pickin up his pay at the end but the ending is pretty mental and compared so some rubbish I have seen like the Happening it's actually not that bad! A few dodgy CGI in places but the plane crash was like pretty awful to watch!
The plot: In 1959, a competition is held among the students of a new school to celebrate its opening. The contest winner was a girl named Lucinda Embry, who suggested burying a time capsule containing the students' drawings of the future to be opened 50 years later. Lucinda's contribution is a series of seemingly random numbers which she continued to write, until her teacher took her paper away. During the ceremony, Lucinda leaves. Police do a search for her at the school overnight, and the teacher finds Lucinda in a closet, scratching her fingers bloody, the remaining numbers on the closet door.
Fifty years later, the time capsule is opened and the pictures are handed to the current students. A boy named Caleb receives Lucinda's envelope. His father Jonathan "John" Koestler, professor of astrophysics, doesn't think much of Caleb's envelope, until he notices a single random number sequence which contains the date of the World Trade Center attacks as well as the death toll of the attack. Further examination made him realizes the numbers are a list containing the dates and death tolls of every major disaster over the past fifty years, with three that have not occurred yet.
Rating 7.5 out of 10!
WATCHMEN
I came to the Watchmen not knowing very much about the hype surrounding the 1980's graphic novel sensation which is highly regarded so amungst the fans there was a lot of expectation about this on screen adaptation directed by the guy who brought us the brilliant 300!
Here is a bit of background....Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder. Based on the 1986-1987 comic book limited series Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the film adaptation stars Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matt Frewer, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Stephen McHattie, Laura Mennell, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson. Set in an alternate-history 1985, Watchmen follows a group of former vigilantes as tensions heighten between the United States and the Soviet Union while an investigation of an apparent conspiracy against them uncovers something even more grandiose and sinister.
The first thing is to say is at 160 minutes this is a long film and the dvd release is meant to be an extended cut. I enjoyed this film and while there are some slow scenes the pace quickly builts at the end having not read the comic I wasn't expecting "THAT ENDING!" This is an 18 certificate film and the graphic violence and gutts and gore are pretty well done and there is actually a few laughs. This is definitely a film I must watch again to decide whether I love this as much as I think I could. It isn't the Dark Knight ot Batman Begins but it is a very well done comic adaptation! I thought Jackie Earle Haley as Walter Kovacs / Rorschach was very good and his performance is up there with Heath Ledger as the Joker in TDK! The cast were good and the visual effects and fighting sequences look stunning! I recommend is deeply...
RATING 9 out of 10!
THE WRESTLER
Mickey Rourke turns in a superb performance in the Wrestler and this is a very good film and deserves to be seen by more people. I had to go to a small independent cinema in Abedreen to see it because none of the large cinema chains are showing it!
Mickey's rise and fall in his personal life makes this role perfect for him. The plot goes Robin Ramzinski, ring name Randy "The Ram" Robinson, (Mickey Rourke) is a professional wrestler who was a major star in the 1980s, but is now years past his prime and wrestling on the weekends for various independent wrestling promotions in the Elizabeth, New Jersey area. After a show, a promoter proposes a 20th anniversary rematch with his most notable opponent, the Ayatollah (Ernest Miller), who now owns a used car dealership in Arizona. Their first match together sold out Madison Square Garden, and Randy agrees, wishfully thinking this high-profile match could help him get back to the top. Unfortunately as his health fails and he befriends a pole dancer played brilliantly by Marisa Tomei as Cassidy / Pam, and tries to repair the damaged relationship with his daughter played by Evan Rachel Wood as Stephanie Ramzinski also turns in a fine performance as the bitter young daughter. I recommend this film and it is a life story and isn't really a film about wrestling!RATING 9 out of 10!
GRAN TORINO
The lastest Clint Eatswood film which he stars in and directs is a real cracker and the ending is brilliant. The supporting cast are pretty good, some critics have said they are weak! There is talk this will be Clint's last film as an actor - I hope this isn't the case but if it were it would be a fitting ending to an awsome acting career - never mind his success as a Directer!
RATING 9 out of 10!
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BEJAMIN BUTTON
I came to this film being a huge fan of David Dincher's horrow film Seven which also starred Brad Pitt. This is a completely different type of film. The story goes that this is the rale of Benjamin Button who lives his life backwards. Visually it is stunning the effects used to make Pitt looks older/younger are sensational and there are great performances from Pitt and Cate Blanchett. The main drawback is the film doesn't have a message and it is unclear what the moral of the story is however this is a very well directed film and the cinematography and visual effects are impressive.
Rating 8.5 out of 10!
VALKYRIE (times 2!)
The new Tom Cruise film about the German plot Valkyrie to kill Adulf Hilter is brilant. A cracking and fascinating film and brilliant cast. Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Carice Van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard, Kevin McNally all put in brilliant performances and Terence Stamp is an absolute legend! Bryan Singer (X men and Superman Returns)does and fine job and John Ottman's score is amazing! Film of 2009 so far!
Rating 9.5 out of 10!
FROST/NIXON
This deserves to be nominated for BEST FILM at the Oscars and although I am bitterly disappointed that Changeling and Dark Knight have been overlooked at least Ron Howard's film about David Frost's famous interview with Richard Nixon is both engaging, well acted and the use of the inetrviews with the key people involved is a great way to drive the story. Frank Langella as Richard Nixon is comelling and draws you totally into a broken man who was President of the United States, and a fine performance by Michael Sheen as David Frost!
Rating 9 out of 10!
SEVEN POUNDS
Will Smith's latest offering is probably his darkest film to date and I can't tell you much about it as it would totally spoil it. All I will say is that I didn't know anything about the film until I went to see it and it is pretty dark. The supporting cast are excellent and Will does turn in a fine performance. I would say though that the ending is pretty dark and questions have to be asked whether the film earned the right to be so dark at the end!
Rating 5 out of 10!
DEFIANCE
This was a really good film and based on a true story set during the second World War that I had never heard before. Daniel Craig is excellent and Jamie Bell yet again demonstrates that he is turing into a fine actor!
Rating 8 out of 10!
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
My first film of 2009 is the new offering from Trainsppointing director Danny Boyle. The film, shot and set in India, follows a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the show WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE and exceeds people's expectations, raising the suspicions of the game show host and the police. The films shows in flashbacks of his early life how Jamal Malik how he is able to answer the series of questions on the show. The film has a strong cast and is brilliantly shot and the sountrack of indian music is very good.
Rating 9 out of 10!
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