Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

Write Up.

Well George Lucas got my money. I went and saw the 3D version. In Gold class too.

The problems with the film remain but it's a nice conversion. The holograms do strange things to my head but I gotta admit that podrace put a smile on my face.

Higher Ground

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

I missed seeing this in its cinema release last year in the art house circuit. But I was curious about what Vera Farmiga might get up to behind the camera, she's always so good in front of it.

Looks like she followed the cardinal rule of American independent films set in small rural towns and went ahead and cast John Hawkes. He just keeps popping up doesn't he.

Now when I see a film about red state christians, I just presume it will end up being a horror film. This whole film had me uneasy, all due to my own problems with religious fundamentalists. The characters here aren't exactly fundamentalists but it's enough to get me on edge.

Of course that is not at all the intention of the film. It's a character study of one woman's struggle with her faith and to find her place in the community. It's slow paced and thoughtful and I was engaged once I figured out there was no horror story about to unfold.

It's a nice little film about a woman that asks some big questions and is cut off by her community for it. It feels very authentic.

Not exactly my cup of tea but glad to see Farmiga is as technically competent at filmmaking as well.

Safe House

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

When you can pick who the mole in the CIA is from the trailer, you got some trouble.

Actually in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter how obvious everything was going to be. getting to the end was a fun enough ride I didn't mind so much. Or perhaps I'm just reacting to a welcome change from an entire day of romance films at the cinema.

Seeing this in a big cinema with massive pumping sound helps. The gun shots really pop. There's a rather thrilling car chase towards the beginning of the film, after the initial bust out of the safe house, despite the overly shaky and gritty Tony Scott style cinematography and editing. In fact that goes for all the action in the film. It was all quite enjoyable despite the shaky overly graded filming. Perhaps it's in Denzel Washington's contract to be filmed only in high contrast. High contrast doesn't automatically equal a gritty film guys.

There were more than a few times some dodgy focus pulling was getting in the way. I think I even recognised a few attempts at digitally sharpening or resizing, as the grain suddenly jumps out at you from shot to shot, to the point where even a laymen would notice. Sometimes I wish you could still shot action films like they did in the early 90's.

The awesome sound did a lot to alleviate the shakycam incomprehensibility. I remember noting that you could quite clearly recognise that one of the assassins had pulled a knife out during a fight where you couldn't see what the hell was going on, simply because of the overly exaggerated unsheathing metal sound. You couldn't even see the knife until 4 shots later but it managed to u the stakes where it needed it thanks to the sound.

Denzel Washington is doing what he does, playing another badass guy. Ryan Reynolds takes his shirt off. Pretty much everyone else in the film gets killed. High body count. Everyone that appears in the film gets shot at least once.

A trashy but enjoyable action film, the perfect capper to a double movie marathon day at the cinema.

My Week with Marilyn

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

Well, I haven't seen much Laurence Olivier OR Marilyn Monroe. So I'm not going to comment on impersonations. I will however say, this is my favourite kind of biopic. The kind where they have an interesting and not as well known story about a very specific part of someones life which they use to make a snapshot that's representative of the whole. A self contained story always works better on film fro me than trying to cram a whole life into 2 hours.

Plus you get the investment of this being told from the outsiders point of view so you have a journey to go on with them. It gets a little convenient at times to just have the characters standing in the far background of scenes he was probably never at, just so we as an audience can see them but that's probably something most people wouldn't notice.

Well I can seen now why people talk of Marilyn Monroe as a tragic figure. And it's an interesting relationship that plays out over the course of the film. Of more interest to me was the behind the scenes of British film making in the late 1950's.

The whole film was very enjoyable and well put together. Emma Watson has a pretty nothing part but I really like they way they ended her story. Dame Judi Dench playing Dame Sybil Thorndike was splendid as was Branagh's Laurence Olivier.

They also managed the feat of making the English countryside look warm, sunny and inviting.

If you're interested in the subject matter I'm sure you'll love this one. If like me you know practically nothing about it, it's still an enjoyable and pretty fascinating look at these people.

The Vow

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

And now we get to the straight romance. The one about memory loss but it's based on a true story which makes it completely believable though right? Hmm, well perhaps the most basic element of the premise but nothing beyond that.

I would count myself as one of the few Channing Tatum but not in roles like this. He can pull off charming and handsome well enough, and even most of the emotional beats, I just wish he would learn to open his mouth when he speaks. Rachel McAdams seems born to play roles.

I'll admit the main draw for seeing this film was to spot a friend who was an extra in one of the scenes. I didn't manage to see her but the film doesn't exactly prompt me to watch it again just for another look.

The most hipster wedding I've ever seen on film. I started disliking the couple right away. Now while I'll admit that situation they are in is pretty shitty for both parties I really didn't care enough about their relationship or them as characters to fully invest any emotion into it. The problem for me is we a rushed through their time together to get to the set up that drives them apart that we end up more in the frame of mind of Rachel McAdams, having to discover their relationship purely by what Channing Tatum is trying to remind her about it, not by what we've seen or felt. Consequently it's easier for us to root for Tatum to give up his unbelievable noble efforts and let her go than it is to root for them to get back together.

I think 50 First Dates is actually more romantic. This is obviously more dramatic, and will hit the weepy factor for many. It's defiantly not horrible but I never quite got there for it to work with me.

This Means War

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

Another action/romantic comedy mix however this one has obviously had a much larger budget thrown at it. And far more likeable stars. McG delivers another slick looking popcorn flick and although there were no giant apocalyptic sentient robots it was equally as unbelievable.

But who cares. Chris Pine and Tom Hardy both get their shirts off. Reese Witherspoon isn't good enough for either of them. And as usual, the nice guy of the two doesn't get the girl. But that's ok they set up a fall back option for him early in the film so it's pretty obvious how it's all going to shape out.

I loved seeing them try to shoehorn in whole movies worth of subplots. You got your CIA terrorist hunt, which ends in an obligatory kidnapping and car chase, you got your romantic comedy girls dilemma complete with horrible advice giving best friend (or in this case, older sister probably one of the worst characters ever to grace the silver screen), you got your buddy cop movie, father having trouble connecting with son, vapid males midlife existential crisis and a divorced couple trying to make it work again. And they all blend together pretty seamlessly, well for the most part. The terrorist thing, not so much. All that does is give a little action set piece for the start and at the end to heighten the romantic dilemma.

5 formulaic plots make for one giant formulaic movie. It has all the advantages and disadvantages inherent with each. You know what the entire film is from the trailer. You'll know if you'll enjoy it or not. It's well paced, fun, the leads are hot. You could do worse.

One for the Money

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

I'm wary of Katherine Heigl, she seems to make more trash than most actresses her age. At least this time it seems she's trying to have a bit of fun too. Based on some book series I've never heard of, so I'm hoping I won't have to sit through any more. One is okay but this doesn't seem like the kind of film to make a series out of.

They did have an opening title sequence. I like it when romantic comedies have a title sequence. It was pretty good too. And then I enjoyed watching picking the cast of supporting characters from what I had seen them in before. Jason O'Mara who plays the lead male actually gave me the most trouble. I had to look him up before I realised he's the guy distracting from all the CG dinosaurs in Terra Nova.

The other thing I liked watch was the prostitutes inventive and constantly evolving hairstyles. Does that make me super gay? Anyway it does what it sets out to do. I still don't believe Katherine Heigl would have actually made it through these events alive. No way in hell. But yeah, girl power, or whatever.

Any Questions for Ben?

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

I wasn't expecting something so light from Working Dog. I just don't really get what they were trying to do. The film is alright, I mean it follows all the romantic comedy beats but everything felt so inconsequential.

I guess my main problems is I never cared that much about Josh Lawson's existential crisis. We are repeatedly told how awesome his life is and see him having a good time, so it's hard to feel sorry for him when he figures out he wants something more.

There's not a film worth of character development here. This is an episode arc at best. Once he figures out he wants a change in his life we see him doing the same things and questioning it for the next hour gets very repetitive.

Josh Lawson turns up the charm to an 11 in the titular role of Ben. A lot of the crew from Thank God You're Here pop up too.

I think I enjoyed it ok, it's just so light and familiar that it fades away quick. Watching Daniel Henshall be the nicest guy in the film right after I've seen him be the most evil guy ever is also very disconcerting.

Apt Pupil

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

Another more dramerific Stephen King and a bloody great film from early-ish Bryan Singer. Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro are so great in this and like Misery, it's full of quite moments of high suspense.

Oddly enough I watched this right after an episode of Fringe so Joshua Jackson suddenly popping up 14 years younger was a bit jarring.

It's probably a little flashier though and the power plays going on are far more complicated. Also fellow cat haters will all appreciate a particular scene.

Fantastic characters and I just love watching their little games. It gets pretty dark and hile I understand the ending is different than the novella, I love the way it finishes. Ian McKellen is just damn creepy.

Chronicle

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Alex

Write Up here.

What a difference the crowd can make. The first time I saw the was with a massive crowd that were really engaged and attentive. This time there were less than half of that and, while they were actually equally as attentive they were some how far more vocal in their response.

At least in the first half. They were really making fun of the characters, calling them gay but still laughing along at all the little jokes and funny bits along the way. While it may sound like they were being annoying and didn't like the film, quite the opposite was true. They were treating the characters like their own mates. Making fun of them and laughing with them and really enjoying all the practical jokes they were playing.

Which is why when the film turned and the characters started heading down a rocky path they became dead silent. By the end of the film it was absolutely heartbreaking. Far more emotional than the first time I saw it. To see these bogan guys in the theatre watching a character they treated like one of their own fall so far was just incredible. I can't get it out of my head. This film played these guys something fierce.

So, the film played far more depressing this time. I still can't get it out of my head. I really really loved it.

MirrorMask

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly, Tyler

Watch The Labyrinth the other day reminded me I wanted to watch this again.

I do like Neil Gaiman stories and his graphic novels are usually accompanied by Dave McKean's unique visual stylings. Here we get and entire film done in this way and it's very trippy indeed.

It's a usual riff on the ol' girl goes into fantasy world to help cope with real world dilemma, the way they always make Alice in wonderland or Wizard of Oz. But it's very surreal and dream like. So watching it at midnight after an exhausting day just makes it extra extra trippy.

I love the music in this. I love that they got FX artists straight out of College and gave them each their own scene to do with what they wanted under Dave McKean watchful eye.

While there's a lot less puppetry from a Jim Henson company film than you might like it's still pretty magical. Give it a try!

Man on a Ledge

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

This film came out the week I was away. When I came back I was a bit dismayed to see it was already only playing once a day at my local cinema. As I write this up it's already finished it's very brief cinema release as I managed to just catch the very last session on Wednesday morning.

Surely a sign that the movie tanked and is probably no good right? Unfortunately for the film but fortunately me I was totally satisfied with this one. I didn't know it at the time but I really needed a bit of fun like this and it managed to hit that sweet spot.

I had seen the trailer a few times so I knew a bit about what to expect but I think this film rewards no knowing too much beyond the basic Man on a Ledge premise. Sam Worthington is that man, and he continues to prove you don't need to be able to hold an accent in order to be a leading man in Hollywood, bless him.

It's rounded out by a pretty cool cast, with 2 of my favs, Elizabeth Banks and Jamie Bell. And Ed Harris shows up half way through the film as the bad guy. What fun.

Now I would have loved to see them do a phonebooth and make the Man on the Ledge story the focus of the whole film, but this is not one of those films. This one has the flashbacks and the action and heist film and revenge, it's basically a slightly more centralised than usual action film and it has interesting enough characters that you can get invested in what's going on.

My biggest complaint is the series of increasingly implausible coincidences needed to made the resolution turn out the way it does. They stretch things pretty far but by that stage I think I was just so happy to be in a cinema and enjoying myself that I didn't care that much.

And when he finally does go off the ledge and the camera follows, man if that doesn't give you vertigo, I don't know what will. Major props for not cheaping out and using bluescreen for the whole film. Actually filming in New York that high up really makes a world of difference.

I really enjoyed this as a fun popcorn action film, it's a shame its release totally got dumped here.

Time Bandits

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

What a trailer.

This is one of those Terry Gilliam films I saw once, a long time ago and very much forgot most of. I was basically watching it for the first time here although I had very vague memories of bits and pieces.

It's easy to see why now I've seen it again, it all plays out like some strange dream. It's not exactly the most cohesive film either but there are a lot of cool things in it and of course, some utterly bizarre. Being a Gilliam film there's some nice imagery too, although I must admit I don't like this as much as some of his other work.

And there's a quite the mean streak going through this film. You'd have a hard time ending a film the way this film does at any studio today.

Interesting to watch again, but it'll probably be a while before I get back to it again.

The Grey

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

Unlike The Artist, this film did manage to blow me away. I had read a lot about it and was excited to see it and I think I probably had a slightly better idea of what to expect from it, judging by the reactions as the film ended.

This is a character study first and foremost, that is masked by a survival horror. But make no mistake, the film is Liam Neeson's. And he is damn great in it as well.

I saw this at an advanced screening and I always think the cinema seem to go out of their way to make those screenings the best possible. They had the sound cranked right up and I'd say it probably made the film %50 more effective. The sound is incredible. Especially during that crash sequence. (Unfortunately at this particular screening the focus was ever so slightly out, enough for no one else to care or notice but to bug me to no end. But with such a packed crowd and a cinema with no isles and very little room between rows I didn't want to inconvenience everyone to tell someone to fix it.)

Now we've seen wolves in film before, but I don't think I've ever seen them realised as terrifyingly as in this film. As soon as they show up they set the stakes with a brutal attack. And for the entire rest of the film you never feel safe, like at any moment they'll burst out and rip another survivor apart.

The actors playing the band of survivors are all fine, they seem to be playing pretty strong archetypes. I was upset one of my favourites was offed so soon. They do a great job of making them more than just wolf food to spread out over the running time.

Really though, this whole situation is just a metaphor for our hero's internal struggle. This is a film about fighting through all the shit life throws at you to make it through the day. This struggle is realised in many ways through the film and the more I think about it, the more heartbreaking I think a lot of it is. But damn, you'll be rooting for them to survive by the end. Even when they struggle to find any reason for themselves.

I really want to see this one again soon. I have a feeling this one will be right up there on my 2012 film list.

The Artist

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

A really enjoyable little film that was severely diminished by my own over-saturation of it leading up to its release. They played the trailer in front of pretty much every movie I have seen at the multiplex for the last 4 months. And while I was hoping to be surprised, unfortunately my dreaded suspicions were confirmed upon watching, that damn trailer it literally the entire film beat for beat.

So the only surprises this film had in store for me was the playful use of silent film language and sound and how it is intrinsically linked to the story and characters. That was fantastic.

And I really did like the film a lot, it's great and I really recommend it. I'm not sure it's as awards worthy as everyone is making out but I can't deny that it really does play up to the film lovers, so like Hugo, it's an obvious choice to pander to the critics.

The film's story is very simple, the characters straightforward. It's a shame I had already seen it 200 times before I paid to watch it again, its simple charms were completely lost on me.