Jack the Giant Slayer

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

I'd read some terrible things about the film so I have very low expectations going in, which might account for my pleasant surprise. Look it's no award winner but I had fun and it was perfectly entertaining. Some really cool visuals and a few good set pieces. And they weren't afraid to show giants ripping guys in half in a kids movie, so there's that.

Not to say it's without its problems but while I probably won't remember all the beats of the film next week I enjoyed more than I didn't. Looked good in IMAX too.

Drift

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Aaron

Was lucky enough to be invited to the World Premiere in Yallingup, where much of the film was shot and where I spent a good portion of my life growing up. A 6 hour round trip but it was quite an event, with 1300 people showing up for the outdoor screening and red carpet event. It was a very cheery atmosphere and there was plenty of spontaneous applause as the huge crowd recognised their favourite breaks on the big screening or saw friends and family as extras. It felt like half the southwest was there giving it support.

I'll review the film properly on its cinema release later in the year so I can hear it with proper sound and away from all the hype of the premiere but I will say I enjoyed it and it contains probably the most beautifully shot footage of surfing I've ever seen.

Hyde Park on Hudson

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

Hmm, yeah it's pretty good. but it doesn't have as strong of a hook as something like The King's Speech. Our way into this historical event is from the point of view of one of FDR's mistresses and that main plot feels somewhat amoral in this day and age and not very fulfilling, whereas the actual interesting stuff surrounding the meeting between this president and king is not really focused on as much as I would have liked.

It's very well acted and put together but left me a little empty.

Performance

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

I knew this one by its original title A Late Quartet when I was reading about it last year. In Australia the title's been changed to Performance but the end credits still listed the film as A Late Quartet anyway. Go figure.

This is a nice little drama though, with a good cast. There were a few places that felt a little too on the nose, the direction was not exactly subtle. In fact it was a little clunky sometimes, one or two decisions felt very out of place. For some reason Catherine Keener's performance never rang true to me either. But as a first narrative effort from director Yaron Zilberman it holds up fine despite lacking some subtlety.

I like that the entire audience stayed all the way through the end credits to hear Beethoven's music right to the end and were just as enraptured by that as the story in the film.

A Good Day to Die Hard

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

UUUUuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh. Just let it Die. Hard.

What a pitiful excuse for a movie. It was like an 8 year old kid in the 80's wrote the script based on what he thought all those action movies he was never allowed to see were. And then a director got a hold of it and tried to desperately turn it into the next Bourne film because that's what action filmmaking is today. Something about the CIA and documents and helicopters and car chases and cameras so shaky you can't tell what's going on. As long as we light it with yellow and blue lighting it will look cool.

The out of character way John McClane bulldozes his way into the story is almost as ham-fisted as the father/son relationship dynamic. Every line that tried to sound like a Shane Black zinger only made me want him to die even more. His penchant for wanton destruction is completely out of hand and while I'm willing to suspend my disbelief that he can keep walking away from the bigger acts of violence in the film (and even radiation poisoning) I can't believe that there's absolutely no reprimand for the hundreds that have been killed in his wake on foreign soil for something that was absolutely none of his business.

Easily the worst in the series. Easily the worst scripted action film I've seen this year. So bad it goes past good and down to just plain unwatchable.

The Croods

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler, Michael

Such expensive looking animation. Absolutely gorgeous design jobs for characters, a huge number of creatures and an even larger number of expansive settings. Doing a road trip movie like this as an animation much have given the poor scene planners a heart attack but visually it's pretty stunning. Doubly so in 3D.

Whoever was in charge of special effects was working overtime too. Some crazy technical challenges on this show.

The character animation is just left of completely cartoonish. There's a bit of Warner Bros style beatings and falling from great heights but mixed in with some nice realistic moments, which is odd. But they keep the story moving and the comedy usually works well. Thankfully there's nothing to pop-cultury or annoyingly meta, the film stands well on its own merits.

It's not as satisfying as my Dreamworks gold standard, How to Train Your Dragon, and doesn't quite have the heart of Kung Fu Panda either but even with the huge technical advancements aside, it's still one of their better outputs. Very enjoyable.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Michael

It's pretty formulaic but has a great subject and comedic performances from the leads. Very enjoyable if not particularly memorable.

Mama

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Spooky times. The film starts with a Once Upon A Time caption. It's good to keep in mind that kind of fairytale story because the climax doesn't play out much like a horror film.

Actually it plays out more like a classic monster movie rather than a ghost story. I can see why Guillermo del Toro would want to put his name on the material. This isn't some vague blur hiding in the shadows, you quite clearly see Mama right upfront and during the rest of the film. Thankfully the design of her is quite intriguing and the all important freaky movement is executed aplomb. But it does change the nature of the kind of scares they can get away with. The jump scares grow tiresome after a while but they do manage to keep the tension up and the mystery of what she actually is.

Jessica Chastain is the unwitting surrogate mother and she's great but it's the performances of the two young girls that really stands out. They have to sell some pretty wild and complicated stuff and are fascinating character in their own right. You could have made a horror film just about them.

The audience I saw the film with were very fidgety and squirmy, but I guess that just goes to show the film was doing its job well. 

Andrés and Barbara Muschietti do a great job with their first feature, adapting from their own short film. There is a deft touch to the staging of the suspense set pieces and even though a few feel like cheats, the majority are pretty thrilling despite all being in the same location.

I really enjoyed thins one, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting and that could hamper it in some peoples eyes, but most of the scares in the middle were effective and there was a strong beginning and a nice little fairytale story end.

21 & Over

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

I really like Miles Teller and Skylar Astin from everything else I've seen them in. They've done thoughtful and intelligent work. That's not really required of them here though and this film never aims to be thoughtful or intelligent.

I thought this was very middle of the road. I laughed at one or two off the cuff remarks but the rest of the time the film just goes through the motions. If you enjoy these men behaving badly films that won't go away now due to the success of The Hangover, then I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun.

Damsels in Distress

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

Oh my lord this is just brilliant. The most indescribable college comedy film I've ever seen. These characters had me in stitches from beginning to end with their naively altruistic ramblings. Whit Stillman's last film was 13 years ago, and I only just recently saw The Last Days of Disco but I enjoyed that one greatly. This film is far less ambitious and the tone is quite different. There's a very 1940's musical vibe going on, which is very odd but completely delightful.

In fact that's the best way for me to describe the film. Very odd but completely delightful. The film exists in its own world. Not to everyone's taste I'm sure but like I said before, I could not stop laughing a these characters antics right the way through. Don't expect any American Pie style frat boy pranks or big slapstick and comedic set pieces, this is all much smaller character and dialogue based humor. Along with a good dollop of tapdancing.

Watch this one immediately.

Broken City

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Belinda

They've managed to make a thriller with very little thrills. Actors are all great, it's technically well put together and the story is alright but again most of the twists and turns were to telegraphed or easily suggested in the trailer. So perhaps if you haven't seen the trailer yet you might get more out of this than I did.

I did enjoy it though, I just wished they cranked up the urgency a little quicker because the whole first half felt like a standard detective procedural. The climax builds to a bit of a catch 22 and I like the way they resolved it, I guess that's what makes the film stand out from the crowd.

You'll enjoy it while you watch it. There are a few thrills and one or two jump scares added in for good measure but never hits as high as it should to make it memorable.

Mt. Zion

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

The trailer tells you everything you need to know. This film didn't do much for me at all.

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Belinda

Super cool that this has been released here, even if I did only have the option of seeing the Cantonese dubbed version. But ultimately, and as a Stephen Chow fan, the film was a little disappointing. It certainly has the cartoonish action, humor and fun of his films though.

Firstly though, what the film is NOT is pretty much anything to do with the Journey to the West story we've all come to know and love in Australia, mainly through the english dubbed Japanese television series Monkey from the late 70's and early 80's. The Monkey King is re-imagined as a demon, and there is a pig demon and a water demon, not exactly in the form you know from the original story. We follow a young and eager demon hunter, who catches the eye of a much more experienced female demon hunter. Cartoonish shenanigans follow.

And they really are wild sequences. The cg effects aren't all the great and unfortunately they take precedence over the physical action, but the small few bits of actual fighting we get are neat. My favourite sequence was actually the opening of the film, where a water demon attacks a small fishing village. It was beautifully staged, the action beats and comedy timing were great and there were one or two moments involving children that you would NEVER get away with in a Hollywood movie. Jeez, they are harsh. Certain bits in this section were very reminiscent of The Host.

The rest of the film doesn't really live up to the promise of that opening. The quirky love story didn't really work for me but I did love that their meet-cute involved a guy with a constant geiser of blood bursting out of his neck. So much hilarious gore for what is supposedly a family film.

The 3D was post converted and not that great.

Some really great moments, a lot of fun times but the whole affair is very uneven. But I did appreciate the end, which establishes where this story is set in amongst the Journey to the West timeline.

Great Expectations

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Belinda, Naomi

Another day, another classic re-adapted to the big screen. This time Mike Newell tries his hand and he brings half the cast of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with him for good measure. Again, he shows that he excels at the whole young love bit, easily the most engaging section of the film for me. But the film speeds past that so quickly just to get to the older Pip who isn't nearly as engaging. He's a look though, I'll give him that.

Helena Bonham Carter's Miss Havisham is nice a kooky. She burns real good too. 

The film has some cool moments and a lot of in between. I grew up with Alfonso Cuarón's modern take which probably isn't to everyone's liking so I'm sure they'll be happy with this more traditional setting. It is pretty good I guess. 

Blue Like Jazz

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Belinda

Another coming of age college story, this time with a christian bent. It's the first crowd funded film I think I've seen and although it's barely playing on one screen here in Perth I thought it was worth a look.

The film never gets too preachy, it's a little rough around the edges to be sure but the good intentions shine through. A little odd getting used to Justin Welborn not being in a horror film.