Russell Brand and Adam Sandler working together – this must be brilliant….mustn’t it??
Synopsis – Adam Sandler is Skeeter who makes up bedtime stories for his nephew and niece when he has to look after them for a week, but what ever the children add to the stories comes true.
My Reaction – Despite being a kids film, and a Disney film (sorry Jo), I was pleasantly surprised how funny it was, and how good Sandler was starring in a film where he cant be as rude as usual, although he still manages a few one liners!
Plot – Basic and easy to follow as you’d expect, but the plot is quite original and this entices any viewer to fully immerse themselves in the stories.
Acting – Sandler and Brand are a fantastic pairing, and play off each other very well. It was very good to see that despite being a Disney film, the production was done by Sandler’s Happy Maddison company, so the usual faces still had chance to make cameos.
Cinematography / FX – Fantastic and a must see on a cinema screen. Its obvious that the film was given a Disney size budget to play with, and they make good use of this as all of the story sequences are superb.
Direction – Adam Shankman, of Hairspray fame, takes the lead and does a bang up job of keeping Sandler and Brand in check, something which I’m sure isn’t easy to do.
Best Bit – Russell Brand! I’m a little bias as I am a big fan of his, but he plays his part backing Sandler up with ease. I was in hysterics when Brand is interpreting Sandler giving a speech when he has been stung on his tongue!
To Sum Up – Definitely worth a trip to the cinema for the big budget effects, and with a good story to boot it’s one for the whole family. (My apologies for that being a very clichéd conclusion!)
Score – 7.4 Thumbs up out of 10.
Friday, 30 January 2009
My Bloody Valentine 3D Review
Aarrrgghhhh, he’s coming right at me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Did that sound rude?)
Synopsis – Some minor goes psycho after an accident on Valentines Day and kills a load of folk. 10 years later, he’s back to haunt the small town on, funnily enough; Valentines Day………….or is he?????
My Reaction – **Insert yawning sound**. The only thing this horror film did new was to be filmed in 3D. Although, I had a right laugh with the experience of watching an entire non children based film in 3D.
Plot – A very basic and tired plot so you can focus on the sensation of feeling like you’re in the film, and having stuff chucked at you! When you discover the intended plot twist at the end, you’ll be able to list at least 6 films where something like that has happened before.
Acting – What acting???? The gay character from Dawsons Creek (I only refer to him as being gay cos I can’t remember his name, I think it was Jack) is the only recognisable face, and proves why he hasn’t been given much work since that terrible, yet very addictive show.
If you’re sad like me you’ll recognise Jensen Ackles (who is the other main character) as Jason Teague off of Smallville, but he doesn’t do anything special worth mentioning.
Cinematography – I shouldn’t really count 3D as cinematography, but they use the 3D to their advantage throughout.
Direction – I think this was director Patrick Lussier first (and hopefully last) attempt at directing. Unless it was his decision to do it in 3D, he also does nothing worth a mention. Lussier should have removed parts of the film when people get the genius idea to go look for the big bad killer, unarmed, by themselves, at night and down a dark mine – WHO WOULD DO THAT!!!!!!
Best Bit – Probably has to be a bit at the very beginning when a dead body is dripping with blood, but the amazing 3Dness (is that a word) makes it look like its dripping on the person sat in front of you head. O, and 3D s*x is interesting to watch (sorry Mum if your reading this).
To Sum Up – Possibly the least scary “scary” film released for a while. However, as my friend Steve said it will probably be one of the worst films with the biggest box office revenues. Worth a trip out on an Orange Wednesday for the 3D experience.
Score – 5.5 Thumbs up out of 10, purely for the 3D effects.
P.S. – I had to pay £2 extra for the 3D glasses, which apparently won’t work on other films. – I will hire them out at £3 a go!
P.P.S – I get this horrible feeling there will be a Saw type set of sequels on Valentines Day to come! I do hope I’m wrong.
Synopsis – Some minor goes psycho after an accident on Valentines Day and kills a load of folk. 10 years later, he’s back to haunt the small town on, funnily enough; Valentines Day………….or is he?????
My Reaction – **Insert yawning sound**. The only thing this horror film did new was to be filmed in 3D. Although, I had a right laugh with the experience of watching an entire non children based film in 3D.
Plot – A very basic and tired plot so you can focus on the sensation of feeling like you’re in the film, and having stuff chucked at you! When you discover the intended plot twist at the end, you’ll be able to list at least 6 films where something like that has happened before.
Acting – What acting???? The gay character from Dawsons Creek (I only refer to him as being gay cos I can’t remember his name, I think it was Jack) is the only recognisable face, and proves why he hasn’t been given much work since that terrible, yet very addictive show.
If you’re sad like me you’ll recognise Jensen Ackles (who is the other main character) as Jason Teague off of Smallville, but he doesn’t do anything special worth mentioning.
Cinematography – I shouldn’t really count 3D as cinematography, but they use the 3D to their advantage throughout.
Direction – I think this was director Patrick Lussier first (and hopefully last) attempt at directing. Unless it was his decision to do it in 3D, he also does nothing worth a mention. Lussier should have removed parts of the film when people get the genius idea to go look for the big bad killer, unarmed, by themselves, at night and down a dark mine – WHO WOULD DO THAT!!!!!!
Best Bit – Probably has to be a bit at the very beginning when a dead body is dripping with blood, but the amazing 3Dness (is that a word) makes it look like its dripping on the person sat in front of you head. O, and 3D s*x is interesting to watch (sorry Mum if your reading this).
To Sum Up – Possibly the least scary “scary” film released for a while. However, as my friend Steve said it will probably be one of the worst films with the biggest box office revenues. Worth a trip out on an Orange Wednesday for the 3D experience.
Score – 5.5 Thumbs up out of 10, purely for the 3D effects.
P.S. – I had to pay £2 extra for the 3D glasses, which apparently won’t work on other films. – I will hire them out at £3 a go!
P.P.S – I get this horrible feeling there will be a Saw type set of sequels on Valentines Day to come! I do hope I’m wrong.
The Reader Review
O my god, shes so naked! Not emotionally naked, proper naked, like all the time!
Synopsis – A young boy is helped by a woman nearly twice his age when he is ill. He recovers, and later finds the woman and they begin a passionate but brief affair. Years later, when the boy is studying law, he attends the Nazi War Crimes trails, and discovers she was a prison guard for a Jewish prison camps.
My Reaction – Hard to say really, its a strange film to try and review. I was surprised how much nakedness there was in it! That’s the last time ill mention that, honest. It clear why Kate Winslet is receiving so much praise for this film.
Plot – An interesting story line to a looser like me who likes WW2 history. Its also a fascinating insight into how a different generation view and judge the actions of another.
Acting – Kate Winslet gives her best yet in my opinion. She had quite a hard role to play as her character Hanna doesn’t show emotions, so Winslet only has very short periods to show her full acting capacity. She also does a very convincing German accent, unlike he co stars who do a German accent when they feel like it.
Her love interest Michael is played by two different actors. Ralph Fiennes puts in a good performance as the older but stern Michael, but the surprise performance comes from David Kross who plays the young Michael. Kross never seems fazed acting next to Winslet, it makes him give a stronger performance. This is however Kate’s film.
Cinematography – The plot and acting don’t leave much room for Cinematography, but clever filming makes 1950’s Germany seem very real.
Direction – Stephen Daldry does a first-rate job with this film, just like he did with The Hours. He has the knack to push actors into areas they may not feel comfortable with.
Best Bit – Difficult to give this good film a best bit due to the theme of the story. For me, it was the dedication to Sydney Pollack who sadly past away from cancer in 2008. Im a huge fan of his, and im glad one of his last produced films is such a success.
To Sum Up – As ive mentioned in another review, Multi Oscar nominated films can lean more towards the depressing stories. This is borderline for me. The story is not a happy one, but the production and acting make this a good watch.
Score – 7.5 Thumbs up out of 10
Synopsis – A young boy is helped by a woman nearly twice his age when he is ill. He recovers, and later finds the woman and they begin a passionate but brief affair. Years later, when the boy is studying law, he attends the Nazi War Crimes trails, and discovers she was a prison guard for a Jewish prison camps.
My Reaction – Hard to say really, its a strange film to try and review. I was surprised how much nakedness there was in it! That’s the last time ill mention that, honest. It clear why Kate Winslet is receiving so much praise for this film.
Plot – An interesting story line to a looser like me who likes WW2 history. Its also a fascinating insight into how a different generation view and judge the actions of another.
Acting – Kate Winslet gives her best yet in my opinion. She had quite a hard role to play as her character Hanna doesn’t show emotions, so Winslet only has very short periods to show her full acting capacity. She also does a very convincing German accent, unlike he co stars who do a German accent when they feel like it.
Her love interest Michael is played by two different actors. Ralph Fiennes puts in a good performance as the older but stern Michael, but the surprise performance comes from David Kross who plays the young Michael. Kross never seems fazed acting next to Winslet, it makes him give a stronger performance. This is however Kate’s film.
Cinematography – The plot and acting don’t leave much room for Cinematography, but clever filming makes 1950’s Germany seem very real.
Direction – Stephen Daldry does a first-rate job with this film, just like he did with The Hours. He has the knack to push actors into areas they may not feel comfortable with.
Best Bit – Difficult to give this good film a best bit due to the theme of the story. For me, it was the dedication to Sydney Pollack who sadly past away from cancer in 2008. Im a huge fan of his, and im glad one of his last produced films is such a success.
To Sum Up – As ive mentioned in another review, Multi Oscar nominated films can lean more towards the depressing stories. This is borderline for me. The story is not a happy one, but the production and acting make this a good watch.
Score – 7.5 Thumbs up out of 10
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Slumdog Millionaire Review
If you’d have said to me a year ago, your going to go see a Bollywood film about Who Wants to be a Millionaire, I would probably have slapped you. (just for the record, that WAS NOT a dig at Bollywood Films, it was a dig at Chris Tarrant)
Synopsis – A young boy from the slums of Mumbai manages to get to the last question for 20 Million Rupees on India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The film is the story of how he knows the answers to all the questions.
My Reaction – Why did they have to ruin a top film with the dance in the credits!
Plot – A very clever plot, which moves with ease through different times of the main characters life. It gave a very plausible story to how this young boy knows all the answers. (Just so you know, the Indian version is much much harder with most people leaving at the equivalent point of £16,000).
Acting – Excellent performances from a mainly very young cast. The three main characters – Jamal, his brother and his love interest are all portrayed by three different actors, one when they are all around 7 and 8, one when they are all young teenagers, and one as young adults (18 – 20). Not one of these actors lets their character down. The supporting cast all back them up with thorough turns too.
Cinematography – The back drop to the plot is the Mumbai slums. It isn’t some ice planet, never ending forest or a large scale oceanic attempt. Despite this you still feel like you are watching something rather epic in these thousands of communities. The close / hand held camera shots compliment the setting perfectly.
Direction – This has to be Danny Boyles best since Trainspotting, possibly even better because there has been a lot of hype around this film, and it is deserved. Whilst I’ll admit that I haven’t seen all the films which have best director nods at the Oscars yet, I think Mr Boyle deserves it for the sheer scale of the task he set himself. Well played Danny boy!
Best Bit – The random attempt at familiarity with a Scottish woman, whilst Jamal is covering for a colleague in a call centre!
To Sum Up – A must see. Multi Oscar nominated films tend to lean to the depressing stories, but not this. Brilliant direction, brilliant acting, brilliant story. The tag line is correct – “The feel good film of the decade”
Score – I wasn’t expecting to give it this but - 8.7 thumbs up out of 10. (it lost 1.3 for the silly dance, sorry not my cup of tea!)
Synopsis – A young boy from the slums of Mumbai manages to get to the last question for 20 Million Rupees on India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The film is the story of how he knows the answers to all the questions.
My Reaction – Why did they have to ruin a top film with the dance in the credits!
Plot – A very clever plot, which moves with ease through different times of the main characters life. It gave a very plausible story to how this young boy knows all the answers. (Just so you know, the Indian version is much much harder with most people leaving at the equivalent point of £16,000).
Acting – Excellent performances from a mainly very young cast. The three main characters – Jamal, his brother and his love interest are all portrayed by three different actors, one when they are all around 7 and 8, one when they are all young teenagers, and one as young adults (18 – 20). Not one of these actors lets their character down. The supporting cast all back them up with thorough turns too.
Cinematography – The back drop to the plot is the Mumbai slums. It isn’t some ice planet, never ending forest or a large scale oceanic attempt. Despite this you still feel like you are watching something rather epic in these thousands of communities. The close / hand held camera shots compliment the setting perfectly.
Direction – This has to be Danny Boyles best since Trainspotting, possibly even better because there has been a lot of hype around this film, and it is deserved. Whilst I’ll admit that I haven’t seen all the films which have best director nods at the Oscars yet, I think Mr Boyle deserves it for the sheer scale of the task he set himself. Well played Danny boy!
Best Bit – The random attempt at familiarity with a Scottish woman, whilst Jamal is covering for a colleague in a call centre!
To Sum Up – A must see. Multi Oscar nominated films tend to lean to the depressing stories, but not this. Brilliant direction, brilliant acting, brilliant story. The tag line is correct – “The feel good film of the decade”
Score – I wasn’t expecting to give it this but - 8.7 thumbs up out of 10. (it lost 1.3 for the silly dance, sorry not my cup of tea!)
Seven Pounds Review
........7........pounds........ - not worth 50p! Synopsis – Will Smith plays an IRS agent Ben Thomas, who decides to change the lives of seven complete strangers.
My Reaction - O dear Mr Will Smith, what have you done in this film??? Ok ill break it down:
Plot – Daft and very hard to follow. Maybe hard to follow is the wrong way to describe it, but the way the story pans out, I was more frustrated by not having a clue what was going on, than I was intrigued and interested.
Acting – Big Willie gives his best yet, very emotionally raw and believable, as does Rosaria Dawson and Woody off of Cheers, but good performances + annoying plot = poor film.
Cinematography – Some beautiful coastal shots, and whoever picked the motor Mr Smith drives (I think its an E type Jag, but I could be very very wrong) was a good call, but due to the aforementioned daft plot, I found myself more interested in the scenic views of my drink!
Direction – For those of you who don’t know, it is the same director from a brilliant Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness. I think that whilst his vision was good, he ended up being far too abstract.
Best Bit - …….I’m afraid im struggling to come up with one! Probably the only brief stint of comedy in the film between Smith’s character and the motel manager, who I think I recognise from season 1 of Prison Break.
To Sum Up - Not one to waste nearly 7 pounds on, wait till its on sky movies or the telly!
Score – A very low - 3 thumbs up out of 10.
Ps – not that ill mention it, but if someone has already told you the big plot twist for the film before you see it, it’s really not worth bothering.
Pps – Mr Smith sir, if your reading this I think your one of the best actors around, and I know what you were trying to do in this film – next time pick a better plot!
My Reaction - O dear Mr Will Smith, what have you done in this film??? Ok ill break it down:
Plot – Daft and very hard to follow. Maybe hard to follow is the wrong way to describe it, but the way the story pans out, I was more frustrated by not having a clue what was going on, than I was intrigued and interested.
Acting – Big Willie gives his best yet, very emotionally raw and believable, as does Rosaria Dawson and Woody off of Cheers, but good performances + annoying plot = poor film.
Cinematography – Some beautiful coastal shots, and whoever picked the motor Mr Smith drives (I think its an E type Jag, but I could be very very wrong) was a good call, but due to the aforementioned daft plot, I found myself more interested in the scenic views of my drink!
Direction – For those of you who don’t know, it is the same director from a brilliant Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness. I think that whilst his vision was good, he ended up being far too abstract.
Best Bit - …….I’m afraid im struggling to come up with one! Probably the only brief stint of comedy in the film between Smith’s character and the motel manager, who I think I recognise from season 1 of Prison Break.
To Sum Up - Not one to waste nearly 7 pounds on, wait till its on sky movies or the telly!
Score – A very low - 3 thumbs up out of 10.
Ps – not that ill mention it, but if someone has already told you the big plot twist for the film before you see it, it’s really not worth bothering.
Pps – Mr Smith sir, if your reading this I think your one of the best actors around, and I know what you were trying to do in this film – next time pick a better plot!
Hello
Eh Up
My name is Al and I love films.
I thought I’d use this site as a chance to pass on my opinions about the latest films I’ve seen, so I can see if other people agree with me, and also so my long suffering partner doesn’t have to hear me moan on to her about them!
I’m going to try and add some reviews of my favourite and worst films ever when I get chance.
I’ve try my best to view every film I see without preconception, including "chick flicks", and id love to know what reaction (if any) I get!
Cheers
My name is Al and I love films.
I thought I’d use this site as a chance to pass on my opinions about the latest films I’ve seen, so I can see if other people agree with me, and also so my long suffering partner doesn’t have to hear me moan on to her about them!
I’m going to try and add some reviews of my favourite and worst films ever when I get chance.
I’ve try my best to view every film I see without preconception, including "chick flicks", and id love to know what reaction (if any) I get!
Cheers
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