| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From Russia With Love - PG | May 3, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Two Lovers - R | Based on the two previous films director James Gray and actor Joaquin Phoenix made together you would expect this to be a grim depressing, surprisingly it isn't. Leonard (Phoenix) a thirty-something bachelor is living back at home with his following a failed suicide attempt. His parents (Isabella Rossellini and Moni Moshonov) trying to play matchmaker introduce him to Sandra (Vinessa Shaw) the daughter of a business associate. Around the same time he meets Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow) and is immediately infatuated. What follows is the can not be described without giving the plot away but it doesn’t take a geniuses to tell that it centres around unrequited love. The film is well passed thoughtful and well acted. The casting is perfect with every actor playing their part believably. The one criticism I have is that Sandra’s character isn't really developed or explored. By the end of the film we know almost nothing about her. This could have been done intentionally by the filmmakers as a way of controlling the sympathies of the viewer. This is an enjoyable film but anyone expecting a romantic comedy or a light and fluffy romance avoid this film. | April 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Damned United - R | An account of Brian Clough's 44 day reign as the Leeds manager. The story blends a mixture of fact and fiction and is hugely entertaining and often very funny. Michael Sheen is brilliant as Clough. The film is not always complimentary about the man and concentrates on his failure at Leeds so younger viewers who have little knowledge of the Forest days may get a very different impressions to older viewers. I went to see the film with a friend who is also a football fan; we went away talking about Clough and not the movie we had just seen. | April 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Duplicity - PG-13 | Clive Owen and Julia Roberts play a pair of former spies now working for warring corporations. They begin an elaborate plot to make a killing at the expense of one of the companies. There are lots of twists and turns but thinks tend to go the way you would expect them to. The film is entertaining and sometimes funny but the leading actors are completely upstaged by Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti as the heads of the two corporations. Not a classic but an enjoyable couple of hours. | April 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Transsiberian - R |
Yet another undiscovered gem that bypassed the cinema. Directed by Brad Anderson who is best known for The Machinist but who has also been responsible for lots of episodes of TV programs including The Shield and The Wire. Starting out with the murder of a drug dealer Transsiberian soon switches to American couple Roy and Jessie in Beijing, played by the excellent Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer. Having been on an aid project in China they travel on the legendry Transsiberian railway to Russia. After their first night on the train they meet the young couple who they will be sharing their cabin with for the duration of their week long train journey. A young American girl Abby (Kate Mara) and her Spanish boyfriend Carlos Eduardo.
For the first thirty minutes the film unfolds with the two couples getting to know each other, there is an underlying feeling that Roy and Jessie are being played or conned by the younger couple, you just don't know how or why. Is the discussion about passports the crux of it or just a red herring? How are they connected to the death at the start of the film? Are they the drug smugglers described by a passenger on the train? This is all put aside when as the two couples get off the train in a small snowy town. They get to know each other as they wander around town. But then things start to go wrong, Roy misses the train. Is this just an accident or is something more sinister going on? The story unfolds, sometimes predictably sometimes not! Until in the last thirty minutes it takes a surprising twist. The film has genuine tense moments and is brilliantly shot emphasising the contrast between the claustrophobic train and the stunning snow-covered landscapes. Emily Mortimer’s Jessie is the character who keeps the film moving. Her good girl with bad girl past is the most interesting character in the film and played to perfection, although some of her decisions are cringe worthy. A great little thriller that really should have had a wider cinema release. Copied from my blog: http://fandangogroovers.wordpress.com/ |
March 26, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Taken - PG-13 | Some great action set pieces such as car chases and brutal fights keep this film going, unfortunately there is real sense that you have seen it all before and done better. Best known is probably Roman Polanski’s Frantic staring Harrison Ford, also set in Paris. Arthur Penn’s Target staring Gene Hackman and Matt Dillon was set in Berlin but has the former spy theme again this time looking for Hackmans kidnapped wife. Taken has its problems, firstly the daughter played by Maggie Grace best known as Shannon in Lost. At 25 she is far too old to play a 17 year old, she compensates by acting 14. The Liam Neeson character’s relationship with his daughter comes across as a little obsessive and creepy. The plot is a plodding and not completely believable. Not a terrible film but not one you will remember as a classic. | March 24, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Bronson - R | "I'm proud of this film, because if I drop dead tonight, then I live on. I make no bones about it, I really was... a horrible, violent, nasty man. I'm not proud of it, but I'm not ashamed of it either... See you at the Oscars." This was the recording made by Michael Peterson aka Charles Bronson at HMP Wakefield that was played at the London premiere. But was the film any good? Simple answer yes and no. The central performance by Tom Hardy is excellent. The format of the film is unusual using fantasy performance by Bronson on stage telling his story directly to the camera/audience. This is mixed with film of the events he is describing. Some have a voiceover other stand on their own. It tries to be over clever with this device and the film loses its way at times making the 92 minute running time drag in the middle. The use of music is excellent using both classical and modern music. As an opportunity for Peterson/Bronson to tell his story it only half succeeds. It tells of a man with no regard for others and little for himself who refuses to be helped. It also tells the story of a young man who is failed by the system. It does this without exploring why he won’t let people help him or why the system was unable or unwilling to help him. It is as if the filmmakers didn’t have the conviction to have an opinion on their subject matter and the film suffers because of this. | March 24, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Surveillance - R | I somehow think Jennifer Lynch had a little help from her farther David (who produced this film) when it comes to attracting actors. Bill Pullman and Julia Ormond have both been in his films previously. It is great to see Julia Ormond playing against type and se did a good job. The film itself was interesting, well put together, and suitably grim. It would have been so much better if it had had a twist at the end instead of the inevitable outcome. As it is we just have sit waiting for the reveal that will clearly come sooner or later. Ultimately it is a nasty little film that lots of people will be repulsed by. I actually enjoyed it and found it far more interesting than films like Saw and Hostel and all their imitators. | March 10, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Watchmen - R | The graphic novel that Watchmen is based on is one of Time Magazine100 Best Novels. The film has gone through countless directors, actors and two studios but finally it is here, but is it any good? In a word: Yes! It isn't perfect, in an attempt to cram in all the source material it feels rushed even at an hour and three quarters. Some of the dialogue works better on the page than it does when actually spoken but these are small complaints about a film that was a monumental project to take on where so many others have failed in the past. Set in an alternate 1980s: America has won the Vietnam War and is moving towards a seemingly inevitable nuclear war with Russia. A symbolic doomsday clock is set just before 12 and the end of the world as we know it. Glasnost is not a word used in this film. So more than twenty years on is the story relevant? Fossil fuels and world finance are mentioned keeping the film up to date but it is relevant for a far simpler reason. The film is not about world politics, it is about people. More specifically it is about heroes and villains. That is the geniuses of the film or more to the point the graphic novel it is based on. Who is a hero and who is a villain? That is easy, Batman and Superman are heroes and The Joker and Lex Luthor are villains. In Watchmen it isn't that simple. There aren't good and bad people there are just people who do good and bad things. Rorschach and The Comedian are the best characters because they the best and the worst of people, sometimes both at the same time. | March 10, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Reader - R | Another film about the second would war although set after the end of the war. Ultimately it is a very average film with a very good central performance from Kate Winslet. | March 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Valkyrie - PG-13 | Far better than I expected it to be. The German characters with English and American accents don’t work, it would have been so much better with a German cast (see Downfall if you haven’t already). Even someone with a tiny knowledge of history will know that the plot fails but that doesn’t detract from the tension of the film. | March 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Doubt - PG-13 | Based on a play and struggles to move away from its theatrical origins. Not a bad film but not a brilliant one. A film like this should make you think long after you have seen it Doubt doesn’t do that. | March 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Gran Torino - R | Simply the best film I have seen in ages. Eastwoods directing is taut and lean moving the story along quickly and amusingly at times. His performance is equally minimalist, why say anything when a growl will suffice! A perfect example is when his eldest son and daughter in law visits him on his birthday suggesting he moves to a retirement resort. A lesser director would have scripted a ten minute argument that would have been less effective than Clint’s growl and facial contortions followed by the guests leaving complaining that they can’t believe he threw them out on his birthday. The casting is first rate. Open castings were held calling for Hmong actors, most of the young actors where discovered this way and had never acted before including Thao (Bee Vang) and Sue (Ahney Her) who are both excellent. The film is far funnier than expected, possibly Clint’s funniest film. Watching in a busy cinema I can honestly say it got more laughs than most outright comedies I have seen recently. Finally the film has so much going on. It deals with life, death, love, loss, hate, age, race, religion and national identity. A final piece of trivia. Look out for Eastwood’s son Scott (credited as Scott Reeves) playing the hapless kid on a short lived date with Sue. | March 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Unborn - PG-13 | A by the numbers horror. All the elements are present, good looking teenagers, creepy kids, and storyline involving secrets from the past. There are a few moments that will make you jump but there is nothing that any horror fan hasn’t seen numerous times before. If you are a horror fan go and see it, if you are not there are better films on release at the moment. | March 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The International - R | It has been ten years since Tom Tykwer made his masterpiece, Run Lola Run. The international is not up to that standard it is also not as good as the Bourne films that it has been unfairly compared to, it is a very different film. The plot follows an Interpol agents attempts to expose an international banks illegal activates including murder and arms dealings. The majority of the film is a low key investigation but the shootout at the Guggenheim is brilliant but feels out of place in this film. The photography is brilliant making full use of the locations that all look amazing. The only real criticism is that the film doesn’t know if it wants to be a tense thriller or an action movie. On the whole I enjoyed it despite its flaws. | March 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Push - PG-13 | A film about people with abilities not hugely different from those seen in the X-men movies or Heroes TV program. This film tries to bring the subject matter into a more real world setting. The characters try to keep their abilities secret to avoid being tracked down by government agents who want to experiment on them. They story concentrates on three of these people. Nick who has been on the run for ten years following the events in the prologue, 13 year old Cassie who tracks him down and asks for his help and Kira who has just escaped from the government. The star of the show is Dakota Fanning as the thirteen year old Cassie, she was the go to girl for an under ten year old for the early part of the decade, she can defiantly act and looks like she will make the jump to being an adult star in future. The main villain is played by Djimon Hounson, probably best known for Amistad and Gladiator who is underused but has some good scenes in the later part of the film. The film makes fantastic use of the Hong Kong setting giving a feel of an old fashioned film sent in an underworld port city. There isn’t a huge amount of action in the film, this was probably due to budget constraints but there is a satisfying ending with some neat twists and turns in the plot and a good action set piece. The ending is set up nicely for a follow-up film, the box-office will probably decide if that happens. If it doesn’t a TV spin-off would work well but only after Heroes has finished. | February 24, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Vicky Cristina Barcelona - PG-13 | Whilst spending the summer in Barcelona two girlfriends are invited to spend the weekend with a local artist, although both woman are attracted to him one is about to get married. The relationship is further confused by the arrival of his highly stung ex-wife with whom he has an unusual but tempestuous relationship. Scarlett Johansson's character is very similar to the one she plays in Lost in Translation a young person desperate to find a way of expressing herself. Rebecca Hall has the toughest role as the more sensible friend whose character evolves throughout the film. Javier Bardem is good as the artist but Penelope Cruz steels every scene she is in as the ex wife. My only criticism of the film is the voiceover unnecessarily explaining what is going on gets a bid annoying. | February 16, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - PG-13 | By now everyone is aware of the premise of the film of a man aging backwards. Directed by David Fincher best known for darker films such as Seven, The Game and Fight Club. You will not be surprised to see this film maintains an edginess that you would expect of the director. The great performances from Bard Pitt and Cate Blanchett stand out as does the fantastic special effects used to capture the unusual aging process. The similarity with Forrest Gump has been mentioned, they share a screenwriter in Eric Roth and a theme of a man journey through life told in flashback with an eye on world events. Benjamin Button is a more likeable character and this is a more enjoyable film. Ultimately the film is about life, death and love, like so many other stories. Without going down the Sliding Doors or Butterfly Effect routes it is about the opportunities we missed and the chances we took. At times quite a sombre film but you still walk away feeling happy. Finally look out for some interesting casting Elle Fanning plays the younger version of Cate Blanchett’s character, she had previously played Blanchett and Pitts daughter in Babel. WARNING PLOT SPOILER: Benjamin and Daisys baby daughter is played by Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Brads real life daughter. | February 12, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Revolutionary Road - R | A storey of an unhappy and ultimately not particularly nice couple in 1950’s America. The bulk of the story happens in 1955 with flash backs to happier times of their relationship when they first med, there is no mention of the time period but from the age of the children one assumes seven or eight years. The reason for their unhappiness is never totally explored but is centres around wanting more out of their lives but not actually knowing what they want. Their existence in suburbia is fuelled by an underlying feeling that they are better than their neighbours; the realisation that they are no different is the catalyst for a life changing decision. As with so many of this years award contenders the film has fantastic performances without being a fantastic film. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are supported by a small but excellent adult cast although the children are hardly ever in the film and only have a handful of insignificant lines of dialogue. The final scene is played out between recurring supporting characters played by Kathy Bates and Richard Easton, it is truly inspired and sums up the entire theme of the film simply but memorably. | February 6, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Frost/Nixon - R | A film about the David Frost interview with Richard Nixon who had recently stepped down from the presidency in disgrace following the Watergate scandal. Like Goodnight and Good Luck a few years ago I went in wondering if you could make a film out of the subject matter. In both cases the answer is most definitely yes. Frank Langella is fantastic as Nixon perfecting the stoop and shuffled walk as well as his mannerisms and accent. The story leading up to the interview was very interesting and leaves me wondering, how did David Frost end up making rubbish TV programs like through the keyhole? Nixon is actually portrayed much more sympathetically than you would expect. Directed by Ron Howard who in recent years been responsible for some great films as well as some dross like The Da Vinci Code, this is one of his better films and is both entertaining and informative. | February 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Rachel Getting Married - R | I don't think I have ever seen a film with Anne Hathaway in it before but was really impressed. Although she probably won't have a chance at the Oscars against the favourites Angelina Jolie, Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep she really should. The character Kym is ultimately a miserable, selfish, narcissistic bitch but she also comes across as vulnerable, funny and sometimes even likable. The storey is simple Kym gets out of years of rehab and returns home for her sisters wedding and struggles to cope with the event and the back storey that unfolds of the past tragedy that led to her going into rehab. It is shot like a fly on the wall documentary following Kym in a sort of mock cinema verite style. When discussing past events the film uses vivid monologues from the actors rather than resorting to flashbacks, this increases the intensity of the performances. Just a warning for those looking for a light rom-com like the couple in front of me in the queue and sat behind me in the screening. They wanted to see the "the wedding film with the girl from The Devil Wears Prada" and thought they where going to see Bride Wars, they couldn’t understand why it was so different to the trailer! | February 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans - R | Lets face it the original Underworld wasn’t a great film but it looked amazing with the eastern European sets and Kate Beckinsale in a costume that wouldn’t look out of place in a fetish club. The second film was dull and pointless and diluted the already thin plot. This third film is a prequel to the original and tells a storey already told in flashbacks in the first film. It has regained the look of the first film transposed to a medieval setting but there is little else to recommend it. Although there is nothing wrong with Rhona Mitra she doesn't have the presence of Beckinsale and leaves the star performance to come from the ever reliable Michael Sheen and the extra hammy Bill Nighy. | February 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Wrestler - R | A film notable for fantastic performances from Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei rather than being a brilliant film. The storey is based around Rourke’s character, The Wrestler of the title. He is a man at the end of his career, the problem is that he struggles to define himself or see purpose away from wresting. He looks for salvation in a stripper played by Marrisa Tomei, and his daughter played by Evan Rachel Wood who is also very good. As with previous films Darren Aronofsky has got top performances from his actors playing characters who are compelling but not necessarily likeable. The film gives an interesting insight into wrestling for people like me who know nothing about it but will not attract new fans. | January 19, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Stardust - PG-13 | January 15, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Terminal - PG-13 | January 15, 2009 | N/A |
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