The WORKING TITLE Awards 2008

WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED SPORADICALLY BEFORE NEW YEAR. KEEP CHECKING BACK

all results to be displayed in order of preference: (2) signifies second place and so on.

Actor In A Lead Role:

Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood - WINNER
Just.. just watch it, okay?

Colin Farrell - In Bruges (2)

Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (3)
Robert Downey Jr. - Iron Man (4)
John Malkovich - Burn After Reading (5)

Actor In A Supporting Role:

Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight - WINNER
Who else could we possibly have picked?

Gary Oldman - The Dark Knight (2)
Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men (3)
George Clooney - Burn After Reading (4)
Robert Downer Jr. - Tropic Thunder (5)

Actress In A Lead Role:

Ellen Page - Juno - WINNER
The Cautionary Whale is one of Page's best roles yet. Fun yet believable.

Mila Kunis - Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Angelina Jolie - The Changeling
Thandie Newton - RocknRolla
Selma Blair - Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Actress In A Supporting Role:

Téa Leoni - Ghost Town - WINNER
Peculiar choice, we know. But it's our choice

Olga Kurylenko - Quantum Of Solace (2)
Lizzy Caplan - Cloverfield (3)
Tilda Swinton - Burn After Reading (4)
Elizabeth Banks - W. (5)

Best Soundtrack:

In Bruges - WINNER
Dark, ominous and foreboding. Fits perfectly with the tone of the film and tugs at the heartstrings.

Wall-E (2)
The Dark Knight (3)
Sweeney Todd (4)
Twilight (5)

Best Animated Film:

Wall-E - WINNER
The little robot binman with the huge heart bags the big one

Waltz With Bashir (2)
Persepolis (3)
Horton Hears a Who! (4)
Bolt (5)

Best Summer Blockbuster:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - WINNER
Too much bad press for what was a worthy inclusion to the franchise. CGI monkeys aside, a brilliant film by objective standards.
[this award not to be confused with Best Film]

Iron Man
The Dark Knight
Pineapple Express
Tropic Thunder
Speed Racer
Sex and the City
The Incredible Hulk
The Happening
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
nb. No criteria was used for shortlist, so even low-rated films were included for this category

The Buried Treasure Award (small budget, small release films):

Slumdog Millionaire - WINNER
Tense, tragic and beautiful. Your preconceptions of this film only scratch the surface of what waits in this masterpiece.

Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist (2)
The Signal (3)
Funny Games (4)
Eden Lake (5)


Best Hero:

One Two (RocknRolla) - WINNER
Gerard Butler's One-Two is the hardest and most fun Hero we think we've seen this year.

Iron Man (Iron Man) (2)
Batman (The Dark Knight) (3)
Horton (Horton Hears a Who!) (4)
Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) (5)

Best Villain:

The Joker (The Dark Knight) - WINNER
terrifying, hilarious, awe inspiring villain.

Harry Waters (In Bruges) (2)
Batman's Voice (The Dark Knight) (3)
Trees (The Happening) (4)
Apathy (Wall-E) (5)

Best Moment:

"I am Iron Man" (Iron Man) - WINNER
Still makes me smile every time I see it. The perfect ending.

Mark Wahlberg begs a plastic plant for mercy (The Happening) (2)
A Bottle! (In Bruges) (3)
Can't Smile Without You (Hellboy II: The Golden Army) (4)

The birth of the batpod (The Dark Knight) (5)


Most Pleasantly Surprising Film:

Step Brothers - WINNER
the title says it all. Bravo!

RocknRolla (2)
Wanted (3)*
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (3)*
The Incredible Hulk (5)


Most Disappointing Film:

The Spirit - WINNER
:(

The Happening (2)
Jumper (3)
Righteous Kill (4)
The Tracey Fragments (5)

Worst Film (To be decided on votes):

The Happening - 17 - WINNER
Shyamalan sh**s a shocker of a film. And not in a good way

Sex and the City: The Movie - 13
10,000 BC - 7

Jumper - 6
88 Minutes - 3

Best Film:

In Bruges - WINNER
A perfectly formed, dialogue driven, black-as-the-night comedy with all the right undertones of tragedy. A masterpiece.

The Dark Knight (2)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (3)
RocknRolla (4)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (5)
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Review: Four Christmases

Yuck. Look, even the title looks wrong! "Christmases" is just one of those words that should not be. It's unnatural to type or even to look at. A certain irony can be found in this, as that is exactly how I felt about watching this film. Right from the off our leading Duo Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughan summon exactly nought charisma as Vaughan, the awkward, intellectual nice guy approaches an icy Witherspoon in a horrible, crowded nightclub. He tries a few lines on her, which she rebounds back at him. Classic stuff really, and that's what grates. These two admittedly entertaining actors appear to just be going through the motions in this unremarkable seasonal comedy. There's no spark, no will to make this film anything more than a yuletide moneymaker for all those involved. Sad, really.

It turns out, by the way, the beginning scene with Vince and Reese talking in the club was all an act. They've been dating for three years and like to pretend to be other people on nights out. An effort, it can be assumed to portray our characters as edgy and cool, when really it comes off as a bit disturbing. If this couple of 3 years can't go out to dinner without making up fake personas and fornicating in the bathrooms (that's what happens eventually), I wouldn't call that edgy. I'd call it sad.

And so, the film reluctantly plods along. We see Thing 1 and Thing 2 as they arrive at the airport, to find their annual Christmas getaway is impossible. To make matters worse, an intrusive reporter barges her way in to the front of the check-in line and interviews them. In a bizarre occurrence, all four of their parents happening to be watching the news at precisely that time on four different houses and begin flooding our bewildered protagonists with offers and ultimatums regarding a Christmas visit. Not content with devising a hasty excuse and waiting it out, they decide it's best to go to all four Christmas parties, then fly out for their holiday the next day.

As I previously mentioned, this story grates. Even this most unusual of set-ups seems far too formulaic. It's way too obvious no-one in this film was trying. No-one. and it's SUCH a shame. Because I wanted to like this film. Vince Vaughan, entertaining as he might be is trying my patience with his more high-profile roles. (See Dodgeball **, The Break Up ** and Fred Clause *). And Reese Witherspoon, well, look at her, she's so damn small and feisty! I wanted to like this film for them. But I couldn't. A Jarring and frankly bizarre script and mismatch cast ruined the illusion of a family film. Throwing cheap laughs at the wall and a boring, conventional message at the end is just lazy, and irritating.

Four Christmases. It will not go down in history as one of the all-time worst films. It's so unremarkable, so normal, bland and unsatisfying I don't think it will go down in anything. A turkey pun just crossed my mind, and I considered putting it in. I can't believe it.

Rating: **

Thanks for reading all, I shall be reviewing the Tim Burton Classic "The Nightmare Before Christmas" on Christmas day, so look out for it.

Happy holidays, folks. Tom.
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A little something that caught my eye...

The Hollywood blacklist is out (all the good scripts that haven't been made yet) you can see the full list here

It's long, but the real surprise for me came in the form of the first item on the list. A Charming film called "The Beaver":

THE BEAVER by Kyle Killen

“A depressed man finds hope in a beaver puppet that he wears on his hand.”

AGENT William Morris Agency –Cliff Roberts

MANAGER Anonymous Content –Keith Redmon

AVAILABLE. Anonymous Content producing.

Now, really, that sounds wonderful. If this film doesn't get mae then I will make it. I promise.

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Review: The Day The Earth Stood Still

This review will either be amazing or terrible because I’m in an awful mood. I felt that in a state of high emotions I’d hopefully be able to write something meaningful and insightful about this decidedly average film.

Remakes are dangerous territory. In fact, I myself can’t think of a single remade film I truly love. The first trailer that came with The Day The Earth Stood Still made me think, in my increasingly bitter and cynical way “meh, another average winter film made for the sole reason to make the studio some pocket money”. This belief was firmly held until a recent article in a generic monthly film magazine about The Day The Earth Stood Still. From that point on, I sat up and started following the story more closely.

What intrigued me most about the plot of the original film (They describe it in the article, I have never seen it) was the ambiguity with which it was made and laid out. The audience was never indulged with such luxuries as discovering the true nature or appearance of alien visitor Klaatu’s kind, or indeed his exact motives. Or indeed, a real solution to the film. A concise version of the original, really, is that Klaatu comes to Earth with a warning, that if the human race continues with its destructive and careless nature, the rest of his kind will come and pretty much kill us all. He then flies off in a spaceship (followed by an 8-foot robot named Gort) and the film ends. Cheery

This new version doesn’t bog itself down in ambiguity or interpretation, though. Parallels drawn between Christ and Klaatu in the original are nullified by a slap-in-the-face side story which features small numbers of every species on earth (excluding us pesky homo sapiens) being rescued in cool-looking CGI domes. The military, trigger happy as always (hey, it’s a Hollywood film) look on as they realise it’s an ark! “Oh!” Cries the gormless demographic, “like what Noah did!”. Come ON, you crazy yank filmmakers, I LIKE subtlety. This film would have earned one more star had it been able to keep a lid on its biblical undertones and allow us to decide for ourselves what the real message was. Bleurgh.

I suppose I’ve ranted enough now, eh? Well, I’ve had enough of writing in prose so here’s a few short sentences on how the film played out for me in my head.

First 30 minutes or so: “Brilliant. Creepy, tense, emotional, this is almost perfect. The new 30ft. Gort design looks terrific.”
After Keanu escapes: “After that bit with the policeman and the two cars I can’t get Signs out of my head. Oh look, John Cleese, an ultimatum and a solution. Right there. I can basically predict what’s going to happen in this final act because he just said, now it’s basically a race against time.
And the rest: “Cool CGI swarm. Wait, what? That was the ending?”

“Meh.”

Rating: ***
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Review: Wanted

I thought I'd end tonight's streak with a relatively big'un

On seeing the trailer for Wanted in the summer, I, like most others had the impression it was going to be an enjoyable shoot-‘em-up without consequence or surprises. Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie and newcomer Hollywood golden boy James McAvoy, surely they’d never go for anything more out-there than that. Right?

Wrong.

Forget any notions you had of this film before you press play. It’ll serve you well. Wanted follows the story of wimpy, neurotic everyman Wesley Gibson. An all-too-familiar character who kills time at his dead-end accounting job “Googling” his own name (yielding no results) and putting up with a proverbial onslaught of obnoxious co-workers. After a series of confusing, slow-motion events, climaxing in Wesley’s departure from his job (not before smashing a keyboard into his best-friends face. Watch as the various “parts” flying off thoughtfully spell “fuck you”) and joins a secret community of assassins. I don’t want to spoil anything (I really don’t, just wait for the scene with the giant loom) but here is where the plot loses any plausibility or chance of academic redemption.
Wanted is the most curiously bizarre of films. Despite its laughable storyline and, quite frankly annoying protagonist, it’s still able to be pretty damn good. The ropey dialogue is no match for the awe-inspiring train sequence, wherein Wesley and his nemesis duel, their bullets colliding at least thrice before blood is shed. The action is simply astounding, and speaking as a filmgoer who has always been quite unenthusiastic on all-action movies, even I must concede that “Wanted” is one of the coolest, most engaging films of 2008.

Rating: ****
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Review: Hard Candy

Ellen Page at her finest. This is not a big film by anyone's standards, but still manages to be my favourite film of hers ever. Slade directs this creepy, wordy thriller which, despite being rated 18+ shows almost no gore at all. This only goes to show, however just how unsettling and claustrophobic the film gets as it progresses. With little over 2 characters in the entire film (and almost no music) you can only marvel at the strength of two performances literally carrying this 90-minute treat from beginning to end.

Perfect.

Rating: *****
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Review: Mean Girls

What? The Tom appreciates good screenwriting, regardless of demographic.

Sharp, insightful but a little off-base, this highly enjoyable film delivers for the first hour then gets mired in morality. Still bloody good fun, though. One-liners aplenty, this film gets better with age.

Rating: ****
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Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Underrated by many, Depp steals the show here opposite a disastrously boring Charlie. What struck me most about this annoyingly American-friendly family film was how dark the dialogue could be. The sets are nothing short of amazing. A worthy re-imagining by anyone's standards, but we still love Gene Wilder's version more.

Rating: ***
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Review: Ed Wood

Easily the best film Burton and Depp have ever attempted together. Charming, heartfelt and surreal is no new ground for the duo, but this film pulls it off in such a way you can only be astounded.

Watch this film

Rating: *****
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So... much... work...

I'm so sorry I have let things slip.
I am now about to attempt what I can only assume is a record for the most number of film reviews in one nihgt. They'll be short and sweet, but I mean every word.

Tom

Oh and, FYI, I have discontinued the DVD corner. It's getting too long to read.
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Tom's Rented DVD corner

The Tim Burton Week
Edward Scissorhands & Ed Wood

I've always considered myself somerhing of a Tim Burton fan. In Fact, I can safely say I have never not-enjoyed one of his films. I do however admit I had never seen these two before.

Edward Scissorhands:
I had heard great things about Edward Scissorhands from many friends and colleagues. Aside from knowing the main character was a strange looking guy with scissors for hands, though, I knew nothing.

What came as an immediate pleasant surprise was the setting of the film. Set in a stereotypical 70's/80's neighbourhood, (all houses painted in garish pastel colours, bored housewives and 9-to-5 husbands) this film was a leap away from Burton's usual penchant for gothic landscapes. This ultimately plays to the film's advantage, though, managing to highlight further just how much a fish-out-of-water Mr. Scissorhands is. Johnny Depp plays the handicapped hero (surprise surprise) with Winona Ryder (pre-klepto) gets the thrilling supporting role of a morally ambiguous little bitch who Edward naturally falls for as she's the only other recognisable personality in the cast.

I had a real problem with Ryder's character, Kim. One minute, she's behaving like the biggest whiny shit in the known universe, the next she decides she loves Edward after all, he's so much more caring and understanding than her faceless, bland, so-stereotypical-it-hurts boyfriend Chip. We'll get to him later. The one moment that truly made me cringe was her dancing in the snow Edward produces as he frantically stabs at a ice sculpture (well, it's not TECHNICALLY snow. But don't tell Winona, as she considers it of great importance right up to the age of about 80). Chip's not one for the sophisticated film connoisseur either, one particularly laughable scene comes from his conversation with his friend in the back of a van (has to be seen to be believed) These two characters summed up everything that was wrong with 90's filmaking. Which, to my understanding now involves finding a pretty young actress and making her behave like a total twat the entire time, occasionally to have some dialogue and plot-development with her blonde douchebag boyfriend (fuck the chemistry between the two of them) until she realises just how wonderful our protagonist is and suns off with him instead.

You might think with a rant like that, I hated the film. I loved it. Those above were just minor problems compared to the overall feel of the film, and the care with which it was made. it has more heart than any other Burton film I care to mention. This being one of his least warped-reality films, it was surprisingly chilling as the recognizable villagers mocked and manipulated the sweet Edward. Their refusal to help or understand him makes it all the more tragic as the film progresses is so frustratingly brilliant it tugs at the heartstrings and makes you want to just leap into the world yourself to hold his hand (figuratively speaking, of course) and tell him that everything will be OK. It's Edward against the world, not ONE other character in this film truly deserves a "good guy" label. That, conclusively is what makes this film a Burton triumph.

My final thoughts: A few examples of suspect acting here aren't enough to make this film flop at all, altough some scenes still jar slightly. This film is a little rough-around the edges, look past the petty problems though, and you'll find a film of real value and beauty. Much like its namesake.

Rating: ****
Sequel?: If anyone even tries I'll kill them.

Film 6
Smart People

The glorious Ellen Page saves this film. A ray of brilliance here and there doesn't quite make the cut, though. Disappointing.

**

Film(?) 5
24/10/08
Jekyll (Episodes 1, 2, 3)
I was surprised, surfing the net the other day that a drama documenting a modern-day Jekyll and Hyde story (one of my favourite ever stories) starring Jimmy Nesbit and written by Stephen Moffat had passed me by completely when it had been on air. Surely, I thought, it must have doen some huge wrongdoing to have been so under-the-radar. MMy suspicions were wrong. Going into this show very dubious, I found myself immediately drawn into the character of Dr. Jackman (it's not actually a retelling, turns out he's a descendant of Dr. Jekyll) and his "darker half". The cinematography is beautiful, as is the underplayed script. Mired only by the very cliche villains with high-tech weaponry trying to being the double-sided monster in for testing (Can anyone say "Hulk"?). Worse still is the British actors putting on American accents. However, plus points can be given for the appearance of Matt "Super Hans" King and Paterson "Johnson" Joseph of Peep Show fame. As well as the versatile skills of one Jimmy Nesbit. His Hyde is a villain of such strength and raw chaos his performance, dare I say it, rival's that of Ledger's Joker. The difference to this villain? I've always found in most shows I like the villain more (Heroes, TDK...) here, I can't wait for Hyde to go. He's a terrifying mass of monster, and Nesbit deserves to be rewarded with at least a BAFTA for his performance here.

Here is a show with it's cracks and its pitfalls, but, much like its protagonist, the good is outweighing the bad, keeping it at bay. For now...

****

Coming Soon: Jekyll Disc 2 - Episodes 4, 5,6.

Film 4
19/10/2008
Batman Begins
A dark, brooding, cautious origin story with a simpler villain, simpler story, and, dare I say it, better because of it. The first 2/3rds are without a doubt better than The Dark Knight. A complicated and emotionless finale are enough to turn any stomach though. Especially one so boring. All in all a worthy reboot to the franchise. Plus, come one, it has the Batcave.

****

FILM 3
15/10/08
Sin City
So damn good looking it already deserves 3 stars simply for the cinematography. It's not so much a film as it is 4 slightly related stores set in the same city. (just like a comic book). Micky Rourke, Clive Owen and Bruce Willis make up the protagonists for each of their stories. Arguably the most intense, enjoyable section given to Rourke. Although all the stories MUST be watched. The support cast is equally as impressive. Elijah Wood giving a fantastic performance disregarding the fact his character has not ONE line of dialogue in the entire film. My advice to you is get this. Buy it, I mean. Renting didn't give me nearly enough insight into the world of Sin City. I want it on-hand at all times.

Giving ANOTHER five-star rating this fornight feels a little generous. But at the same time, it's my film blog so fuck you.

Rating: ***** (In the spirit of the way it was shot)
Sequel: Yes! Sin City 2 is in production now and there are plans for a Sin City 3. Good times.
My favourite moment: Christ, just go see it.

Coming Soon: Batman Begins

FILM 1
02/10/08.
In Bruges
A strange yet wonderful film. Bloody, hilarious, bloody hilarious and even very dark in places. This film combines action, whimsy, laughs and deep philosophical, psychological issues to be addressed. One of Colin Farrell's finest films (I still love Phone Booth). I have never been so affected by the death of a fictional character than in this film, I don't want to give anything away but it involves a tower and a broken gun.

There you have it, terrific performances, terrific (albeit, slightly fucked-up) plot and terrific in all genres covered. Highly reccomended.

Rating: *****
Best Bit: "A Bottle?! Don't bother."
Sequel?: Watch it, and you'll see what I mean when I say never in a million years.

FILM 2
The Usual Suspects
Slow, dated and overcomplicated. Disappointing given the number of fans and its cult status. Yeah, the ending rocks but does that really count for EVERYTHING?
I can't bear to give it 2 stars, film fans would have my nuts in a vice.

Rating: ***

My rental queue:
Clockwork Orange
The Godfather
The Iron Giant
Uncle Buck
Batman Begins
Ed Wood
Fight Club
Pulp Fiction
Sleepy Hollow
Smart People (For the Page)
Toy Story
Edward Scissorhands
Star Wars IV, V and VI
Withnail and I

Reserved for Release
Iron Man
Man on Wire
A Complete History of my Sexual Failures

Any other suggestions?

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Review: Ghost Town

Eek, we saw it 2 weeks ago and no-one's reviewed it!

It shall be done, my friends as soon as I have a spare moment, so within the next 3 days.

Rating: ***
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The three-pronged review

apologies for the lateness of this. I've been far too busy enjoying my half Term. Here's 3 reviews of 3 big Autumn films.

Eagle Eye: Bland, boring and preposterous. It's all action and no fun. All work and no play. Forget character development and remotely understandable storylines. This film is lost, weighed down by it's message of addiction to technology and the state of the world today, I'm all for films having a message, but having one so obvious and poorly constructed is almost offensive to watch! The redeemable features here lie, once again in the acting ability of Shia Labeouf, who can just about turn any script into a watchable film regardless of plot-holes or the level of juvinile obscurity (See Transformers (***)) This film is best avoided. Saying that, go see it anyway. it passes 90 minutes or so. Then on, however, it's torture.

Rating: **
Sequel?: It wouldn't surprise me
Best bit: Jerry's sacrifice at the end. injects some much needed emotion into this overly-robotic piece.

Quantum Of Solace: I want to start off by saying I loved Casino Royale. I loved it. It was gritty, thrilling and even quite witty in all the right places. Quantum Of Solace in the 12-month build to its release seemed to be pushing all the same vuttons. It was billed as shorter, faster-paced and more thrilling. This, to a certain extent is true. There's elements of a fantastic film here. I mean, come on. Bond kicks ass. That's all he does this time round, tough. No room for quips and quirks as he kills his way to the top of the food chain of a secret organisation known as "QUANTUM". The characters are lost here, too. In fact, the only character getting any real attention or development is QOS is Olga Kurylenko's charcter Camille. A thoroughly well written and acted character, by the way. This film is sure to thrill, but it's no fun either.

Rating: ***
Sequel?: In production now.
Best Bit: James' goodbye to Mathis.

Tom's reccomended film for Autumn

Burn After Reading

Without a doubt the most entertaining, fresh, funny film of the season. An all-star cast doesn't distract or jar the quirky script and oddball characters. This caper is an absolute must-see. Watch it before it leaves the cinemas. That's all I can say really, there's no plot at all, just 90 minutes of fun. Enjoy!

Rating: ****
Sequel?: No
Best Bit: Clooney Vs. Pitt, Pitt vs. Malkovich, Pitt vs. Malkovich II, fuck it, it's all great.
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How To Lose Friends and Alienate People review

How To Lose Friends And Alienate People based upon the memoir of Toby Young, it tells the story of Sidney Young (Simon Pegg), a failing editor of his own film magazine who attempts to break into celebrity parties to score interviews with celebrities, this leads to a well written and charming conversation between Sidney and Thandie Newton. After a stint at a celebrity party Sidney is offered a job at a New York magazine company working for Clayton Harding (Jeff Bridges) whilst there he meets Alison Olsen (Kirsten Dunst) and tries to make a name for himself and impress his boss unfortunately every time he tries it just ends up with him going back to square one and embarassing himself.
There are many similar comedies to How To Lose Friends and Alienate People which would employ very similar jokes, but what it is that makes this film different is that it establishes a firm foundation on which to make these jokes. This foundation is consisted of a good amount of character development and by having a character who has a calm sense of the world but finds himself in very tense situations which leads me to see why Simon Pegg was hired for the role of Sidney. Though Sidney is a jerk in a lot of respects it is Simon Pegg which encompasses the vision that Sidney is a nice man trapped in a jerks body who you unconditionally love despite his faults.
By having a clear and organised foundation and a good amount of relevant, funny jokes the only way this film can go is up, and it does by continuing the same style but progressing through the story at a very comfortable level, making this a film that you could sit down and watch and not have to think about a thing just know that it's there to make you laugh and i can assure you it will (unless you're a humourless limpet).
All together everything that this film gives allows it to be very charming and slightly inspiring which makes this a very realistic love story which is what it needs to be seeing as it is set around real life.

I was particularly suprised by Kirsten Dunst, though her performance wasn't anything worthy of an award it did prove to me that she in fact isn't a bad actress overall, i don't think much other people (except Rachel Weisz) could portray that nice a bitch without seeming repulsively annoying or uncannily sarcastic.
But Jeff Bridges for me was where most of this films acting talent was. Jeff Bridges seems to have a voice that is both incredibly clear but also intriguing and slightly forceful and this helps a lot in portraying a boss who is a fun, good man but ultimately has a company to run and has to be harsh when he needs to be. Jeff Bridges also showed that he can be incredibly serious and it is this sort of seriousness that paves the way for joke after joke from Simon Pegg which is the main reason that the scenes between Sidney and Clayton were my favourite.

How To Lose Friends and Alienate People is a consistently funny but moreso charming film that will keep people easily entertained and give people the great feeling of knowing that they're at least going to get 1 good laugh out of it and gives an accurate and extremely interesting look at media in New York.

Rating: ****
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The Breakfast Club Review

Well i feel like doing some reviewing so i'm gonna do 3 short reviews, a DVD review, a review of a film thats currently on in the cinema and whatever other film i pick. Firstly i think i'll pick The Breakfast Club


Last night i decided i really had nothing to do so i watched 3 films in a row until 3am, one being The Breakfast Club which i was extremely happy to find for £3 in Cambridge.

The Breakfast Club (Directed by John Hughes) is the simple story of five teenagers who have to spend their Saturday morning and afternoon in detention. The film starts extremely simply but effectively by showing all the teenagers arriving at school, most of which are driven there by their parents, this opening scene instantly illustrates who the characters are. As the day continues it becomes more evident what high school stereotype each of the teenagers are (The Athlete, The Princess, The Brain, The Criminal and The Basket Case) but the story evolves into showing how all of them become friends in the space of this one day and understand though they are different they have lots of similarities and they also find out for themselves who they really are. This is the main aspect of the film and John Hughes shows extremely accurately he knows a lot about the teenage mind and is one of a very short list of film makers who can actually understand it and it's because of this that he is able to make what are considered the best 80's teen movies ever and Breakfast Club excells above all of them for the reasons that it's an accurate representation of the teenage mind, very funny, and by using the fact that John Hughes can unleash the full potential of a simple plot.
The Breakfast Club has some very good casting choices particularly Judd Nelson as John Bender who portrays the best use of rebelious sarcasm that i have ever seen in any movie.

The Breakfast Club is considered as the definitive 80's teen movie and it is very easy to see why thanks to a brilliantly written script, superb cast and soundtrack and above all exceptional representation of teenage life.

Review: *****/*****
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Holy CRAP are we behind!

It's been a busy week in terms of homework/other factors so I apologise for the lack of activity. I have FOUR reviews to do for you soon, just hang on and I'll get through them.

How To Lose Friends and Alienate People ***
Eagle Eye **
Burn After Reading ***
DVD Corner: Batman Begins ****
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Coming Soon:

Review: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

Tom's rating: ***
Chris' Rating: ****

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Short DVD Reviews

Short DVD Reviews

(For me these are essentially just short reviews with a tiny bit about the special features but i've been watching a lot of films on DVD recently and felt i needed to do some)

Children Of Men


Children Of Men is a film which poses the question 'what if every person on the planet became infertile?'. Starring Clive Owen as the films protagonist, Theo, a man who simply lives among all the threats and worry of the country since everyone became infertile. It shows his journey with Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) who is the last pregnant woman on the planet, he must to deliver he to a ship in which the problem of the worlds infertility is being investigated.

Children Of Men is a very graphic and realistic vision of the world in a time of trouble and conflict this is exceptionally shown through the camera work in many scenes and the fact that this film will add anything into the background that they feel needs to be in there eg. extra's.
The film almost comes to an end with a very long though thrilling scene of Theo running through a battlefield protecting himself so he can reach Kee, this is extraordinary that a scene such as this could incorportate so many things to make it as realistic as possible from building explosions to tanks appearing and people being shot all whilst Theo runs through this orgy of risky destruction. This scene is the pinacle of the entire film because it perfectly signifies peoples reaction to fear and what it's like to be stuck in between a country and government gone mad.

Clive Owen's performance isn't very memorable, neither are many performances in this film seeing as Michael Caine plays a lesser character it's hard to base the films acting expertise fully around him, though he does a good performance. Though Clive Owen portrays quite accurately the feelings of a man in his situation and seems very realistic he can come across as slightly wooden luckily this does not alter the feel of the film much and it is still a highly thrilling film.

The DVD extra's are okay, nothing to complain about, they're what you'd expect from a DVD, there are a few deleted scenes which wouldn't add anything at all to the overall film and some documentary's on making the film which are fairly interesting seeing as it seemed a very laborous and precise film to shoot.


Children Of Men draws it's strengths from being extraordinarily realistic and being extremely accurate at posing a 'What If' question and explaining it without going into any levels of ridicule. It will excite, interest and shoot nerves high.

Rating: ****

Extra's: ***
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Review: Harvey

The blog slows down with some 50's whimsy now, as I review the Jimmy Stewart classic, Harvey.

There's no doubt in anyone's mind that a James Stewart film about a man who's best friend is an invisible six-foot rabbit is going to be endearing. It exceeds this preconception in every way. Stewart's character Elwood P Dowd is among one of the nicest people ever, in history or fiction. His unrelenting charm and vigour throughout the entire film enthralls and entertains and, indeed, frustrates as he is labelled "insane" as his sister attempts to ge him institutionalised.

The plot is simple, very simple. But, hey, it was the fifties. possibly 3 central locations (a house, a bar, a hospital) and two main characters. The rest of the ensemble shines, though. In particular Josephine Hull as Elwood's sister, Veta. Her constant horror and exhasperation at Dowd's antics makes for ridiculously entertaining times. As does her slow awakening into the magic of Harvey himself. Another stand-out performance for me was from Jesse White as a short-fused orderly, desperately trying to simulaneously get Dowd back to the hospital and woo Myrtle May, Dowd's niece.

The real message to this film is, again, very simple: "be nice". Stewart's character, nea the end of the film muses "My mother once told me you can be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart; I recommend pleasant. And you may quote me".

Harvey is a joy, an absolute joy and you'd be a fool not to watch it, especially as you can get it dirt cheap nowadays. Any fan of cinema must see this. Persoanlly, I prefer it to "It's a Wonderful Life". with Stewart's warm voice and charisma reaching unmatched levels here.
Buy, rent, illegally obtain, it's up to you. See this film. I'll make you a better human being.

Rating: *****
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Some Top 5 lists

By the way in these lists i am not including minor roles like Tobey Maguires role in Tropic Thunder, Seth Rogens role in Donnie Darko and Ben stillers role in Anchorman.



My Top 5 Jim Carrey Movies


1. The Truman Show
2. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
3. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
4. Horton Hears A Who!
5. My, Myself and Irene

Honorable Mentions
- The Mask-
-Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls-



My Top 3 Tobey Maguire Movies

1.Pleasantville
2. Spiderman
3.Spiderman



My Top 5 Tom Hanks Films

1. Toy Story
2. Toy Story 2
3. Big
4. Saving Private Ryan
5. The Terminal


My Top 3 Bill Murray Films

1. Groundhog Day
2. Lost In Translation
3. Ghostbusters


My Top 5 Adam Sandler Films

1. Airheads
2. Little Nicky
3. Deuce Bigalow:Male Gigolo
4. Happy Gilmore
5. Big Daddy


My Top 5 Ben Stiller Films

1. Meet The Parents
2. Dodgeball
3. There's Something About Mary
4. Night At The Museum
5. Tropic Thunder


My Top 5 Owen Wilson Films

1. Shanghai Noon
2. Meet The Parents
3. Drillbit Taylor
4. Zoolander
5. Meet The Fockers

My Top 5 Seth Rogen Films

1. Superbad
2. The 40 Year Old Virgin
3. Horton Hears A Who!
4. Knocked Up
5. The Pineapple Express


My Top 5 Steve Carell films

1. The 40 Year Old Virgin
2. Little Miss Sunshine
3. Horton Hears A Who!
4. Anchorman
5. Bruce Almighty

My Top 4 Will Smith Films

1. Men In Black
2. Independance Day
3. The Pursuit Of Happyness
4. I, Robot

My Top 5 Gary Oldman Films

1. The Dark Knight
2. Batman Begins
3. Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix
4. The Fifth Element
5. Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire

My Top 7 Hugo Weaving Films

1. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
2. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
3. The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
4. Transformers
5. V For Vendetta
6. The Matrix
7. The Matrix Reloaded


My Top 3 Johnny Depp Films

1. Sleepy Hollow
2. Pirates Of The Carribean: Curse Of The Black Pearl
3. Corpse Bride
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Tropic Thuder review

Thats right i promised you guys this, you extreme 4 or so readers that we have (god bless ya)
Here is my review of Tropic Thunder (to be honest a film i've been wanting to review for a while but i thought i'd wait a while until i was in the perfect mind frame to review it because i want this one to be good+ i did forget sometimes)


The idea behind Tropic Thunder is that there are a group of actors filming a war film that goes badly and then they are put into a real war situation to make everything more believable and have to save themselves from Korean drug farmers at the same time.

Tropic Thunder showcases some laugh out loud moments and is all together enjoyable but holds on to a story that seems to be nothing more than the idea that is presented to the audience in the trailer or at the start of the movie, the problem with this is that the movie doesn't seem like it's going anywhere. Luckily Tropic Thunder isn't a poor excuse for a plot that has awful jokes bursting out from every unwanted crevice, but if it wasn't for this films general idea being quite inventive yet simple and the few laugh out loud moments it would create a tedium of just Ben Stiller trying to be funny (which i'm sure a lot of people might accept he really can't do as well anymore).
A lot of the reason that this film can be considered memorable is for the fake trailers played just before the movie (used for the actors played by actual actors in the film) especially because one of which features a superb cameo from Tobey Maguire, it is because of these trailers that there is an averagely significant glimmer of hope that Ben Stiller can still spawn some originality and turn it into something.

Robert Downey's Jr. in a way represents the whole of the movie extremely well, in the way that his character is an excellent idea and concept but lacks the hilarity to fully bring out that concept but is funny enough to make the idea a proposition of an amusingly easy film to sit and watch.

As with most Ben Stiller films the film seems to take a strange direction away from what the idea of the film seems to be and leads to something that is out of place and could perhaps work well as a sketch but because of a lack of relevance loses out on perhaps the true humour of it, in Tropic Thunder this happens quite frequently with idea's such as Jack Blacks character being a drug addict and Ben Stiller's characters previous film about a retarded farm hand 'Simple Jack' which quite frankly takes a lot of the focus of this being a war comedy (though these minimally link in with the plot the jokes don't).

I cannot say i'm dissapointed with Tropic Thunder because it does entertain but more just upset that such a good idea was not saved until a better script came along (though Ben Stiller had the idea for this film for half his life).

In short Tropic Thunder has a very worthy plot but the script lack of jokes and often lack of relevance help to steer this film away from being something brilliant, but nevertheless the material offered still entertains.

Rating: ***
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The Cider House Rules Review

And as a special in honour of Toms mums reviews i shall be reviewing his mum next week, but for the moment here are 2 reviews of The Cider House Rules and Tropic Thunder


The Cider House Rules

The Cider House Rules tells the story of orphan boy Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire) who is raised by Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine) amongst lots of nurses, this orphanage also happens to be a place wherein women can get abortions. Homer Wells is trained to be a Doctor by Dr. Larch and though he knows everything that can be taught to him he doesn't consider himself to be an actual Doctor.
Homer longs to see the world, which is partly why he doesn't accept himself as a doctor, because this would mean he'd have a feeling of being bound to the orphanage all his life.
Enter Candy Kendell (Charlize Theron) who is taken to the orphanage by her boyfriend Wally Worthington (Paul Rudd). After the abortion Homer "hitches a ride" with Candy and Wally to a Cider House where Homer decides to work picking apples so he can experience the world.
Meanwhile Wally goes off to war, forcing Candy to feel extremely lonely and begin an affair with Homer.


The Cider House Rules starts off exceptionally and i would be perfectly comfortable to say that it's one of the best starts to a film i've seen since Pulp Fiction, it sets the scene of the orphanage perfectly and features some of Michael Caines best work as an actor which allows for a deliciously heartwarming first 10 minutes which perfectly illustrates the relationship between Dr. Larch and Homer perfectly.
Unfortunately this changes as soon as Homer leaves for The Cider House, it loses it's warm feeling and takes a lot of point out of the opening scenes at the orphanage, by showing that this film isn't going to be an uplifting film about an orphanage, and this is my main problem with the movie because afterwards the film doesn't seem to be able to stick to a lot of it's main themes and lingers on a lot of them. A theme that is particularly lingered upon is the affair between Homer and Candy especially seeing as this seems to be one of the main elements of the film.
Before long the story changes and offloads a moral situation upon the audience which destroys all views that this film might be in fact just trying to show that it's about how one man develops throughout his life and because the other key elements of the film are present it takes a lot of emphasis off of them and never draws out what could be an exceptional story and constantly makes the audience think they're waiting for something which of course does happen but with an unfortunate and exceptionally too short climax.

I was dissapointed by Tobey Maguire's performance, partly because i was very impressed by his performance in Pleasantville, but The Cider House Rules shows that Tobey Maguire could be an actor that would become very easily typecast. He doesn't embrace the seriousness that his character needs nor the charm that he could portray quite easily from playing an Orphan. Though Tobey Maguire doesn't show seriousness as well as he should and in places is quite wooden he does keep one of the key parts of Homer Wells's character which is that he is very curious but in a respectable manor, this is something he does very well but at the expense of the other characteristics it overall isn't a very memorable performance.

Michael Caine on the other hand fully embraces the warmth, seriousness and often sadness of his character and is the perfect vision of his character and is a lot of the reason that though i did not enjoy this film as much as i would of hoped i still was able to keep a warm smile throughout thanks to the pleasantness of his character.

The Cider House Rules shows a very realistic and sometimes upsetting but overall heartwarmingly charming vision of orphan life and a slightly notable vision of how Homer Wells's curiosity evolves with age but lacks the seriousness to make a lot of it's main issues seem worthwhile. I am dissapointed with this film, as i think the audience will be because it starts off amazingly and has the ability to be a classic and gets there which a lot of films struggle to do but instantly throws it away to make it a slightly above average mismatch of morals.


Rating: ***


Coming soon......... My Tropic Thunder review and maybe a review of Being John Malkovich (though it will literally be the hardest film to review out of every film i have ever seen)
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Mum Reviews: Modern Apatow

In our efforts to appeal to a wider demographic, we salute you, the middle aged!
Please enjoy my mother's own take on this production powerhouse.

Anchorman
"It was very silly, but I liked the message, and the newsteam. I thought it was funny"
Translation?: about 3 stars

Knocked Up
"I thought the main character was lovable and charming. the script was long but it was very funny, funnier than the news one."
Translation?: Let's say 4, yes, mum?

Pineapple Express
"Oh that looks awful, don't make me watch that"
I'm inclined to agree, have 2 stars.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall
"It's not great. I just don't like the main character as much as I do the ones in Superbad and Knocked up. Russel Brand did well, didn't he?"
Translation?: It doesn't look good, 2 stars.

AND, against all odds, let's hear what she had to say about the least endearing SUPERBAD, the lewd teen film that's subject matter covers nothing but sex and alcohol from a male perspective...

Superbad
"Oh I LOVED Superbad (breaks into giggles) Do you still have that? I'd love to watch it again!"
You're weird, mum. 5 stars.

Not reviewed: Talledega Nights, Step Brothers.


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Review: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

On a cold, satisfying Christmas morning in 2004, I first experienced the delight of the classic film Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
In 2008, I watched it again, on probably about my 15th viewing. Having scratched my previous DVD, this was a new one. I rarely cry at films, in face only one or two have ever made me actually well up. Planes, Trains, on it's umpteenth viewing, made me weep.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles tells the story of Neal Page (Steve Martin) trying to get home for Thanksgiving. After a botched (well, 2) attempts to get a cab, he finds himself bumped form from First Class on his flight, later to be grounded in Wichita due to weather. It's here he meets Del Griffiths (John Candy), an infuriatingly cheerful motormouth with a sincere desire to make friends with Neal. It's got all the real conventions of a 90-minute dispensable cheap-laughs comedy. However, what separates this charming slice of American cinema from today's Scary Movie and Just Friends is exactly what's missing from too much modern comedy flicks. Heart. Right at the center of this outrageously hilarious film lies another, softer, meaningful layer. Fuck Neal's wife, the one bad thing about this film. I'm talking the relationship between these two men as they attempt to travel 791 miles (Thanks, Google Maps) for Neal to get home.

Both Martin and Candy play their roles with class and distinction, but as the film progresses, it's Candy's character who develops more, despite Neal being the more central character. Behind Del's annoying persona, there's great tragedy and sadness in his eyes as he delivers every line. He's the true miracle of the film, and the hero, once all's said and done.

Right, but HOW FUNNY IS IT? It's a comedy after all.
It's hilarious. never before has the "Things can't get much worse" genre been as enthralling. I want to ruin nothing of the actual plot, nothing. But the way the film careers from planes, to trains, and then to automobiles is an absolute delight to witness, even if it's torture for the characters.

I'm halfway through what I expected my review to be but, you know what? It's unreviewable.

This film is a classic, criminally underrated even today. it's the finest example of simple comedy. Watch it, rent it, buy it now.

*****
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DVD Review: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

An unusual Apatow DVD, just one disc (shame) for one of the flagship films of the new Hollywood megastudio, doesn't skimp on the single disc, mind - an extended cut of the film is an option featuring a hilarious yoga scene and an extended plane scene. Deleted scenes are disappointing but the commentary shines, some of it funnier than the copious one-liners we've come to expect from these films. Other extras include a table-read of one of the scenes (I'm a sucker for those), the red band trailer (I'd already watched the film, so this didn't really have much of an effect), a gag reel and a Music Video from Russel Brand's airhead rock-God Adonis.

The film itself is, without a doubt one of the best out-and-out comedies this year, slightly underrated by critics on the back of Superbad and Knocked Up. I personally prefer this to the former, I've always found teenage characters slightly harder to relate to than more adult ones, ironic in that I'm still a teenager. Jason Segel and Russel Brand shine brighest in the flick, but it's not the acting you're going to watch it for, is it? Fear not, it's also very, very funny. Might just tug a heartstring or two as well with anyone familiar with the burn of heartbreak.

****

-An interesting side-note to this film, both Russel Brand and Jonah Hill will be reprising their roles from the film and starring in a spin-off film in which Hill's character joins Snow's troupe on tour.
I hate to say it, but I expect disappointment.
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Pineapple Express Review

Last week i ended up going to the cinema a lot and subsequently i am probably going to be writing a lot of reviews because of it and here is my first of that week (though it wasn't the first film i saw that week it is the one i am most eager to review).



Pineapple Express starts telling the story of Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) and what his day-to-day life is like, which introduces the character of Saul Silver (James Franco) who is Dale's drug dealer and friend. Saul supplies Dale with a new form of weed described as "the dopest dope", this form of weed is Pineapple Express. Later whilst Dale is doing his job as a process server he witnesses a murder, the murderers unfortunately see him and he leaves the remenants of his joint at the scene pinpointing him to Saul.
The film from herein onwards turns into an on the run film which builds the friendship of Dale and Saul.

Pineapple Express has a well meaning and effective plot in the way that it does show a compassionate charm of having two drug fuelled stoners becoming friends because of a threat on their lives and though this is one of the elements of the film that is pulled off effectively it never seems to create any sort of climax to the friendship, though it tries it doesn't work and just becomes part of the plot instead of being a heartfelt piece of cinema that ties into the plot. Luckily the moments wherein their friendship is building is warmingly funny.

Pineapple Express lacks in the way that it seems too much like it's a film which just describes it's plot to a piece of script that just tries to flow along but fails because of it's lack of jokes that could easily be fitted in to a plot which should have loads of potential for making a laugh out loud movie.
The times at which Pineapple Express does present it's audience with humour it seems to be that it is in no context with the overall script and therefore lacks a lot of amusement about the jokes and dampens the fact that the overall plot idea might just be because it is deemed cool instead of actually being Seth Rogen's idea of a plot bursting with opportunity for comedic excellence.

James Franco does help save the movie from seeming like a dull illustration with a wonderful performance that captures the elements of what the movie should be about and luckily he helps it to allow to hang on to those elements that do make it interesting. One particularly noticeable thing about James Franco's performance is that as opposed to Seth Rogen he can pull off the part of a drug addict successfully in the ways that it's believeable which allows it to be funny and it encompasses those visuals of a drug dealer having a comic aspect to him that actually makes it funny. The problem with Seth Rogen's performance as a drug addict (which he seems to have in all his films) are that he sees them as being funny on script and that if he supplies the audience with a character who just obsesses about how much he loves weed then it will be funny without thinking at all about whether his portrayal is realistic.

Rogen does however pull out of the bag one of the funniest and best chase scenes i have ever seen and it is a shame that the rest of the movie doesn't offer more scenes like this because it perfectly shows how it is possible to bridge that gap between comedy and action and still do something original.

Pineapple Express does portray some enjoyable action scenes and it is in these that the best humour comes and luckily it doesn't go over the top with comedic fights, which could potentially ruin a lot of the movie if they were exasberated so easily. Unfortunately there are a lot of throaway scenes that seem to be centered around just the humour of the movie.

In short Pineapple Express is an enjoyable, slightly heartfelt romp that delivers but nowhere near enough as a movie with this much potential should.


Rating: ***
Best bit: The Chase Scene
Sequel?: No
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The best films of 2008

As we near the end of the Blockbuster season. I'm putting something quite special together for you all. Until then. My top five films of 2008.

1. The Dark Knight
2. RocknRolla
3. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
4. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
5. Cloverfield

Stay tuned.
Tom
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Review: RockNRolla

This film leaves a buzz like no other. Two hours of pure bliss. Thrills, superb plot navigation and some truly hilarious moments.

See it, you'll get a kick.

Real review tomorrow. My brain's just saying:
RockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRollaRockNRolla

Rating: *****/*****
Best Bit: Nice wheels.
Sequel: Hellz Yeah, "The Real RockNRolla", coming 2010.
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The Shawshank Redemption review

Hey, this will currently be a very short review because i'm in registration and quite bored. (i will probably add more to this when i get home or perhaps in one of my frees)


The Shawshank Redemption tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who has been charged with the murder of his wife and the man she was having an affair with. Andy is sent to Shawshank prison where he meets Red (Morgan Freeman), a man who has spent 20 years inside Shawshank, who is also able to get people things from the world outside the prison. Life inside the prison for Andy is atrocious, he has to face frequent attacks from other members of the prison, deal with the harsh ways of the captain of the guard and live in fear.

Though The Shawshank Redemption tells a depressing story it is altogether extremely uplifting and heartfelt, the relationship that grows between Andy and Red is beautiful and extremely well written, all of which includes narration from Morgan Freeman who undeniably has the most warm and loving voice in film. There is a great deal of sympathy felt for all the characters in this film and it will completely throw a lot of peoples opinions of people in jail turning a despised hatred into a sort of sorrow.

Both Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman deliver exceptional performances and emphasise their roles and portray them better than perfectly, so much that they push them beyond limits of anyones normal acting career allowing anyone to say the words 'if these performances aren't oscar worthy i sure as hell don't know what is'. An excellent choice in casting i must say, Morgan Freeman is the ideal man to portray a worn old man who still clings to hope and Tim Robbins is ideal for a suspicious but friendly and righteous man who relies on planning and a good will.

The Shawshank Redemption is packed with loads of unforgettable lines and scenes that it isn't hard to say why this film is considered one of the all time greats. As a film it really reaches it's limit and tries to break that limit without seeming ridiculous or off the point.

Rating: *****


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Review: Step Brothers

It was ineviateble that at some point, Will Ferrell would break his downward trend of the quality of his films. Starting from the comedy classic Anchorman, weaving through the acceptable Talledega Nights, before releasing the unremarkable Blades Of Glory, and finally crashing and burning in Semi-Pro. Step Brothers had "average" written all over it. The comedy duo of Will Ferrel and John C. Reilley reunite once again to bring you the story of two forty-year-olds still living at home, who are forced to live together after their respective single parents hook up and marry. It's a very wide-appeal, and despite the R (or 15 in the UK) rating, a first for Ferrel, it still manages to wade through the fart, vomit and nutsack jokes and become quite a sweet, enjoyable family film. (And by that I mean a film about a family. Don't take the kids)

Right from the beginning, Ferrel and Reilley's man-child characters are on top form. Ferrel's loveable loser Brennan waves goodbye to his mother as she goes to work, before sticking his hand down his pyjama bottoms as soon as she's out of the door. Reilley's character plays Guitar Hero in his room as his dad goes to work that day. Already we see this is the duo's domain. A quirky comedy with a paper-thin plot, but plenty of gags to fill the void. It's something about the entirely cliched nature of this film that's so charming, however. A genuinely-funny-for-once sleepwalking scene makes for good laughs (and they use that one twice) as does the coming together of the two brothers as they try to put off potential buyers of the house they aren't ready to give up slacking in. It has to be said the pair truly do save the film. The prepoeterousness of two single 40-year-olds behaving like children living with their parents is something only a select hollywood few could pull off.

As Brennan's psychiatrist observes near the end of the film: "You realise this is totally fucked-up, right?" Hell yeah, we do. But this film has magic despite the plot holes and cliches. Ferrel's back, ladies and gentlemen.

Rating: ****
Best bit: The funny-for-once sleepwalking scenes
Sequel?: No.
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Tom and Chris' cinema adventure

Chris and I attended the cinema this evening. It was a fun night, we originally had planned to see RockNRolla, A film I am still looking forward to. Chris and I are huge Lock, Stock fans.

We decided, it's all about you the blog readers, and you'd much rather read a review of us tearing Disaster Movie to pieces. Let's face it, it's going to be awful. However, approaching the ticket desk we couldn't actually bring ourselves to ask for a ticket. Instead we opted for Step Brothers. Expecting nothing, we took our seats for 100 minutes of an expectantly average film.

Instead, we got a fun, fast comedy. I was pleased we chose Step Brothers. I'll review it tomorrow but it's safe with a joint 4-star rating from us. All will be revealed in good time. Until then, dear reader, thank you.
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The Brave Little Toaster

All toasters toast.............utter crap (and bowser)

Okay, this is partly because i don't have time to do my Little Miss Sunshine review right now but also because it just made me think ".....what,why,ahhh!!?!". (But i will tomorrow-hopefully)

Earlier today i got bored so i decided to watch about 3 minutes worth of The Brave Little Toaster (i don't own it, i watched it on youtube) and it's extraordinarily messed up, it's about a toaster who is on some crappy adventure, probably to return to his master (a four year old boy who really seems to get some strange sort of a kick out of over-using household appliances (i blame the parents)). The toaster is accompanied by a lamp, a hoover, a radio and a electronic heat blanket thing which the toaster seems to fall in love with in this short scene i watched.
What made the whole thing extraordinarily weird for me, was a) how the toaster and the lamp described love. The toaster described it as "like seeing a new loaf of bread" and "that warm toasty feeling inside" whereas the lamp described love by the so called pleasure he gets out of a four year old boy changing his bulb.
b) this is what mainly freaked me out, and it's the fact the toaster has a nightmare and in this nightmare a clown dressed as a fireman petrifies the toaster by saying the word "run" which causes me to completely re-think my life whilst watching a toaster attempt the well known skill of running.

Eventually the toaster is attacked by a Tsunami of forks and falls from a great height into a bath tub, oh and to make it even more scary.......THE TOASTER BURNT THE TOAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! shock horror!!!! not only is this every toasters nightmare it's also every film critics. Yet i do find some pleasure for hating a film about a living toaster, and even more for it's sequel (the brave little toaster goes to mars, which i haven't seen, but to be honest i don't think i need to).
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A moment of your time, please

Find things quicker and easier with the new naviagtion feature, just go to the sidebar and look! Snazzy categories to select from. The archive will remain, mind in case you can't find what you;re looking for.
Don't forget to leave your comments on what your reading :)

Oh, and if you could click your mouse once in a desired spot for our poll, I'm sure we'd appreciate that plenty, too!

Remember, still early days and we are just two students. not too much is going to get covered around here just yet.

Tom
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Give a hoot!

Support the blog!
Follow in the footsteps of 2 people and leave a comment on one of our pieces of work, it gives us a little perspective and even makes coming to the blog more enjoyable for us!

thanks for coming here in the first place, leaving a few words on what you think really does make all the difference to us Blogmasters. I appreciate we're spotty on coverage on plenty of things, bear in mind we're just two people both with part-time jobs and full-time education timetables.

Thank you, again and remember, make yourself heard! I'd happily review any film someone suggested and more, we're all about the interaction :).

Tom.
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Review: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Just how big a factor does the overall jist of a film play in it's appeal? Would the Dark Knight have done as well if Heath Ledger still walked among us? "Of course" the fanboys will cry, "Absolutely not" say the cynics. In the case of horror films, the genre is enough to have punters flooding to opening weekends and buying grimly-titled DVDs on the bottom shelf of the A to Z at Blockbuster because "they like a good scare". So when presented with a big red demon, who carries a massive gun, smokes and trash-talks to otherworldy villains, how do they react?

"Seriously, guys, go see Hellboy II, it's really good!"
"Isn't that the one with the red demon saying "Awh crap?"
"Well, yeah, but-"
"Go away Tom"

Okay, fine, it's not a film for the casual cinema-goer. A disappointing opening-weekend gross of just over $30million shows this. But the positive reviews have been flooding in thick and fast. I say to you, casual cinema-goer: Believe the professionals. Give Hellboy two hours of your time, go out on a limb, you will not be disappointed.

Hellboy II Starts with a cutesy (albeit slightly cliche) opening scene of a teen Hellboy being read a bedtime story by his father (John Hurt, killed in the first film) telling of an ancient feud between man and the paranormal beings, and of a dormant, unstoppable army that can only be controlled by a crown. Oh and big shocker: It's split in three. Two for the elves, one for man. Did I mention the elves are normally a peaceful bunch, but the vengeful prince (next to the throne) can't wait to get his evil little hands on said headgear and fuck our unsuspecting little world right up? Oh, he's also bound in a magical way to his twin sister, he can read her thoughts, and when she gets hurt, so does he and vice-versa. He also speaks in your classic throwaway-villain way. He's got an RP English accent, of course, dresses flamboyantly and gives little monologues before executing any part of his plans, no matter how small, insignificant or illogical.

But on seeing it, these problems melt away. Del Toro's script is, yes, ropey but builds on it's predecessor to such an extent this almost isn't a sequel, but a far superior standalone film happening to feature and center around the same protagonists in the same time line in the same world. The humour is predictable and easy, but the characters are so likable that the niggles seem trivial in comparison. "I would give my life for her, but she also wants me to do the dishes" laments an inebriated Hellboy on seeing his sleeping girlfriend, before, obviously engaging in a Barry Manalow singalong with his psychic amphibian sidekick Abe Sapien. This film is ridiculous to the point of ridicule, but is so aware of it and just tries to make things fun. It succeeds, as well. The plot roars through an extended troll market scene, an excuse for Del Toro to cameo some of his otherworldly creations on a scale, I suspect, he could never have imagined. His creative flair for "Holy shit!" monsters continues all the way to the finale, where a breathtakingly beatiful-yet-horrific angel of death hints at a third film. If it's anywhere near as superior to Hellboy II as Hellboy II was to the first, I will be first in line to see it, believe that. Sadly, we'll have to wait 'til Del Toro has finished his upcoming Hobbit film(s). f he still can be bothered on the back of that, and if the cast can come back, Hellboy III could shape up to be one of the definitive fantasy films. Ever.

In short: Succeeds Del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" only in scale, with the dark Spanish flick still his finest creation. But builds on the Hellboy franchise in such a grand way you can only marvel, once again at Guillermo's work. No annoying evil elf is going to stand in the way of this fun, fantastic sequel.

Rating: ****/*****
Best moment: The Troll Market, and Big Red's ruck with burly troll-henchman Mr. Wink.
Sequel?: Read the article, jackass.
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TV

"Oh, TV's ruining our younger generation, they'd rather watch Coronation street and have sex than get an education! Won't somebody help us?!" Shut up, Daily Mail.

A word on television.
I used to be a real addict to the TV, blindly following one show and then another, caught up in the lives (or jokes, in the case of one of my many favoured panel shows) of others.
Television has got a bad name from 95% of the crap they put on it nowadays, anyone with Sky I urge you now to delve into the lower recesses of the menu and watch Psychic TV. The stuff melts your brain, it truly does. Channel 4 STILL expect us to watch Big Brother. A show so monotonous and filled with the worst people you'd ever wish to encounter, it's a shame really, it could have been such an interesting idea. But, as always the show's producers decided to go for people with tits and people likely to get into a fight to entertain the morons with free time EVERY night at 9pm. This shit doesn't deserve to be on television when there's so much other great stuff going on.

Nowadays I usually only follow one show at a time. It lets me follow everything and know what's going on. When you think about it, TV shows take an extraordinary amount of skilled storytelling. More than a film you might say. Yes, The Dark Knight lasted 2 1/2 hours. There's rumours of a 3-hour Watchmen film being released.
Child's play. Season 1 of The Sopranos lasted 21 hours. The level of complexity and detail in that story is immense. It's currently my show of the week. I'm just about to start on Season 2. How clever is it, that a show centered around a murdering, thieving mobster who cheats on his wife, lies to his family and hides guns in his mother's retirement home can get you on his side? It's fucking clever screenwriting and it's a shame I didn't follow the show when it was around. Oh well, five seasons to go.

Another special mention of mine goes to The Office.
Well, yeah. You all think, it's fantastic.
Fuck Ricky Gervais. I'm talking the US version. It's funny, compelling and dare I say it, has better supporting characters. It's truly admirable how a show developed directly from a british sitcom can work on it;s own terms while still staying faithful to the spirit of the UK version. I love it, and you should too.
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Review: Imaginary Heroes

Okay i've got about 1 day until i leave for Reading festival and i thought i should leave a review on here, and this is for a film that i've been meaning to review ever since i saw it and it's a review of a film that was reccomended to me (and i always love to review those ones the most) so here we go:

Oh, firstly, i'm crap with punctuation, but i'm working on it.


Imaginary Heroes begins to tell the tale of a suburban family who's lives have gone to the worst after the suicide of one of the sons in the family, everyone in the family blames it on themselves and they get up to many ill deeds afterwards in order to attempt to keep some sort of sense of order in their family and support their sadness.

Imaginary Heroes starts off well, it has an interesting idea and that something like a suicide would happen in a normal suburban town is quite major and heavy to take on but neverthless it's interesting to see how everything is going to go, that is until it starts to unveil a lot more to the audience and more problems between the family seem to erupt and it's because of this that there is never enough focus on one issue to make it interesting.

With a mass of ethical issues shown in this film it's hard to simply ask any ethical question at all that could bring up any reason for the audience to be stunned or at least think about what the films message is. The main problem is this film appears to have no single idea, it's extremely hard to work out whether it's a chance for every single ethical issue to be shoved into one to try and make an 'Ethic Movie' or whether it's a chance to see some amazing acting by challenging the problems that could happen in life.
Maybe this film should stick to asking the question of 'How is it that a family falls completely apart?' and for some very short moments in the film it does do that, but it is hardly consistent and justs adds another issue which will not be brought out and explained properly to make this a good film.

I found watching this film was like watching 'Imaginary News' wherein it broadcasts it's problems to the world and goes on telling people about them but never explains them and says because lots of bad things are happening you should be stunned, without knowing why, well if you're going to make a film which puts this much issues on it's plate you're going to need a lot of Why!

Though the reasons for everything in the film are because of the sons suicide it never stops to say "this happened because of the sons suicide" it just assumes the audience will be able to take a massive leap and somehow work a tangled link between two completely different ethical problems, this could be a good thing, but they've completely forgotten that the audience like to be told why, it adds a layer of interest to a film.

There is never a moment of just plain grief in this film, for some reason grief has to be shown by drugs and lying instead of sadness and crying, and it's because of this that it makes this film extremely unconvincing.


I was impressed by Jeff Daniels performance in this film, and it is the lack of his character that allows him to impress the audience on a higher level than everyone else in the film, he is portrayed as being a guilt carrying father who eventually must do all he can to keep his family together, he portrays what are some of the best scenes in this film and make them near enjoyable because of his acting, but it is nowhere near enough to keep this film together.

I honestly think i would of enjoyed Imaginary Heroes if it was a film that questioned peoples beliefs on suicide and peoples reactions to it but only one scene does this, though it's an okay scene it doesn't support the film enough to give it enough of a foundation to support the heavyness of it's multiple ethical questions and the whole films comes towering down and creates a mess of ethical issues thrown around.

Imaginary Heroes is like going to a drug dealer with no money, you'll get to have a look at the good stuff but never get even close to touching upon it or experiencing it in full.

Rating: ***/*****
What it needs: to stick with one idea and work upon it
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Review: Muse In Dublin

Full story, pictures and review coming soon.

Setlist:
1. Map Of The Problematique + Riff
2. Supermassive Black Hole
3. Dead Star - With lasers!
4. New Born
5. Hysteria
6. Butterflies and Hurricanes
7. Feeling Good
8. Space Dementia
9. Drum and Bass (aka Bass Jam aka Osaka Riff)
10. Invincible
11. Bliss extended
12. Time Is Running Out
13. Stockholm Syndrome + Riff + Riff
14. Take A Bow + lasers
------------------------------------
Blackout - scheduled but not played due to wind
15. Starlight
16. Plug In Baby + Balloons
------------------------------------
17. Man With A Harmonica
18. Knights Of Cydonia
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Summer

I'd like to thank Chris for his reviews while I've been away, I'd been meaning to review Hancock for a while and his Pan's Labyrinth review was nothing short of amazing. I'd like to take the time to say Del Torro has to be my favourite filmaker of the moment, Hellboy II is an incredible work (review coming soon!) and we can only begin to imagine where he'll take The Hobbit.

Look out for me in the upcoming issues of Sky Sports magazines, I've got a few articles in the September and October releases.

I'm also going to review some concerts! Just for a bit of fun. I was at Muse's gig in Dublin on Wednesday and will be going to V Festival tomorrow (where Muse are headlining)

See you all on the other side of V, I hereby promise reviews of Muse In Dublin, V Festival and Hellboy II by the end of the week. I'll also talk TV, why chick flicks aren't all that bad and why Chicken Run is overrated.

TTFN

Tom.
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Review: Pans Labyrinth

Pans Labyrinth tells the story of Ofelia, growing up after the Spanish Civil war. Ofelia and her pregnant mother go and stay with Captain Vidal at his mountain post where he and his soldiers are fighting the rebels. Captain Vidal is Ofelia's step father and the father of Ofelia's mother's soon to arrive baby. Ofelia finds a scapegoat from the horrors of the real world like her mother being very ill because of her pregnancy, her step father being horrid and her father having died when she was very young, the scapegoat she finds is in her fairytales and it is because of these her imagination conjurs up a world in which she must complete three tasks set by a mysterious faun and fairies appear in the form of winged stick insects.
Whilst Ofelia's imagination takes her far on completing her three tasks there is a war going on and Captain Vidal is shown to be a maniacal and very powerful killjoy, Ofelia's mother's condition worsens, the Captain's Mistress Mercedes develops a relationship with Ofelia and helps out the rebels with the help of the Doctor.

Pans Labyrinth is a visual wonder which primarily deals with fear shown with a fantasy element, and it goes deep into the subject of Ofelia's fear of her current condition and displaying this with the fantasy element creates a very touching story which will excite, intrique, thrill and electrify (not literally of course).

There is nothing about Pans Labyrinth that would stop it becoming epic, it sets itself a high limit and doesn't waste time or deviate to get to that limit of greatness and it gets there, by not wasting any time with making scenes that have no meaning or do not help to develop the characters. Pans Labyrinth is like a film that has been rushed because it features all the necessary stuff but a film that has been rushed by Adonises of film.

Pans Labyrinth displays how deep the fantasy genre can be and it does this perfectly with an extremely fitting location and brilliant portrayal of how dark and frightening the imagination of Ofelia is when brought up around such terrifying circumstances.

Beneath an exceptionally well written script and visual brilliance this film displays phenomenal performances from it's cast especially from Sergi López i Ayats who played Captain Vidal, he gives a raw and chilling and most of all ultimately believeable portrayal of his character that would convince any audience that this man is pure evil.....in a box!
Maribel Verdú also pulls off an Oscar worthy performance as Mercedes who creates a brilliant contrast to Captain Vidal and acts as a hope button for Ofelia, her performance captures beautifully the sadness experienced and her hope longing personality in a way that makes her character strangely loveable as the beacon of hope throughout the film.

Pans Labyrinth would be an immense film even if it was just an hour and a half of reading the script, but either way every other single part of the film, from it's acting, direction and visualization turn it into a ridiculously brilliant epic!


Rating: *****/*****
Why see it? Because there is nothing wrong with it, it is perfect!

Sequel?: the idea of a sequel for this film is extremely frightening and I'd be dissapointed by a sequel even if the sequel was amazing, plus there is no possible way for there to be a sequel.

Best bit: I love it all, but i'll probably say Mercedes with her kitchen knife about three quarters of the way into the film
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Review: Hancock

Hancock begins by telling the story of John Hancock (Will Smith), a superhero whose deeds to society are not appreciated because of the destruction he causes in order to do the right thing and how he becomes accepted by the public with the help of Ray (Jason Bateman), but half way through the film changes it's plot and becomes a lot more complicated and unnecessary.

Hancock starts out as a very good film, and the first half of the plot is a good idea with lots of potential, unfortunately this potential is not unleashed and makes the film seem to cry out for acceptance of being a landmark film (much like the character of Hancock who also secretly cries out for acceptance). But in no way is this a landmark film, it's enjoyable to say the most but because of a massive change in the plot and because the film combines a lot of genre's it never really knows where it's going, only where it started.
Watching this film it seems more of just a good idea that the audience should like because it combines a lot of popular modern culture, everyone loves Will Smith and superhero films are big at the moment, surely combined they should do excellently.........Unfortunately not, maybe if Hancock stuck with being an idea of a superhero who is hated and just made a consistent story to go with that people would love it for it's idea, but to see a good idea be spoilt by a mix of comedy,action,romance, thriller and fantasy does not work.

The second half of Hancock decides that the film has to go somewhere, and it does go somewhere it just trails off in many different direction to try and reach the ultimate goal of Epic but gets completely lost on it's search for it.

One thing i did enjoy about Hancock is that Jason Bateman put on a good performance and was by far the best actor in the movie, i could never call Jason Bateman's performance monumental in any way at all, but this is partly because the character he played was very average with no room to show off a monumental performance but enough room to show off that Jason Bateman can indeed act. Will Smith on the other hand pulled off a dismal performance, and there were not much points that i believed that Hancock was an alcoholic bum with superpowers, which may sound like a hard part to play but in truth is exceedingly easy. Will Smiths acting did help to turn what could of been a great idea into a misled flop.

With a lack of Jason Batemans character Ray, and Will Smiths poor performance the second half of the film appears dull, and seeing as the film has already completed what it's initial plot was it's very easy to lose interest and feel like you're sitting through an hours worth of deleted scenes.

Hancock tries so hard not to be an utterly terrible film that it takes no risks and winds up being dull and average and if you're going to watch Hancock, make sure you enjoy the first half because the rest of it loses it's humour and ruins what was a good idea and turns it into a lost script which puts too much on it's plate but doesn't even attempt to deliver that plate!



Rating: ***/*****
Reason to watch it: So that you can turn it off half way through
What it needs: Consistency, to take it's initial idea and keep it going without losing audience interest
Sequel: Never, why grind an idea with lots of potential down even more so that it loses all hope of being any good
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What were they thinking 2

Shark Boy and Lava Girl????!!!!???
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?????!!!!!????

The plot of shark boy is literally that he was raised by sharks and for no reason grew gills and apparently the sharks told him how to fight.....oh and he grew a fin too from being around sharks so much.
WORST FILM EVER!!!!!!!


Oh and also, another thing which really emphasises the question "what the hell were they thinking":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Chihuahua


THATS NOT EVEN A PROPER FILM IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Review: Wall-E

Well here is my take on the film Wall-E

Wall-E tells the story of a robot on earth whose sole job is to clear up earths rubbish, unfortunately he is the last thing on earth because all the humans left because earth became unliveable after a huge increase in fumes and rubbish, Wall-E has been stuck on earth for around 700 years and eventually becomes curious and lonely being the only robot left on earth with everything at his desposal, he then meets the robot EVE who comes to earth in search of plants as a probe droid, he falls in love with her almost instantly and tries to win her heart on an intergalactic mission which entails in humanity's return to earth.

Wall-E starts with a fantastic scene featuring Wall-E cleaning up the earth and searching through the rubbish for any remenant of earth that he takes a shine to, this scene is both visually stunning and very humorous and it is impossible to not at all feel compassion for this lonesome robot. When EVE arrives the mood changes slightly but it still runs along very well by building Wall-E's character and then showing how this films plot will esculate into an intergalactic romp of romance and comedy. Scenes with EVE on earth are both funny and especially heart wrenching when we see Wall-E trying to win the heart of this flying iPod with lasers!

What really makes this film is how well the two main characters are portrayed and how much compassion is felt for them, especially Wall-E, the build up that is given to Wall-E winning the heart of EVE is fantastic and raises lots of points about love that other films have failed in doing so. This film is very wise in waiting quite a long time until EVE ends up falling in love with Wall-E, but it shows the hardships of it as Wall-E appears to annoy EVE accidentally on multiple occassions by faults which are not his own. Combining a perfectly written love story with one of the cutest characters of all time makes a perfect blend of compassion for this Sardine can on tire tracks.

Wall-E's main strength is that it is undeniably loveable as a film, but it has some certain weaknesses for instance the start of the film is the only part of the film that fully embraces the humour of the entire film, and to have this lack of consistency does weaken the flow of the film.
Once aboard the Axiom (the ship in which the rest of humanity are living) there is a lot less interraction between Wall-E and EVE and perhaps too much focus is on the captain of the ship, and it seems like the films is trying too hard to be a space age film aswell as a love story because of this, this is a foolish mistake to make for a film that has shown that has prooven to be deeply emotional and loving, the more space age stuff feels a bit like filler so that the glorious end scene can be built up even more, though it does seem like filler it is still good filler and does keep some consistent humour.
The film does ask the question half way through "what are Pixar trying to do here?" seeing as the audience feel that they are in for a beautiful love story....in Space! but changing that makes the film seem a tad like 2 films merged into one, which is why the second half probably loses audiences attention compared to the first half, but not enough to stop the audiences compassion for our lovesick sardine can.
Though the second half of the film does help to show that Wall-E and EVE are possibly the most human things on board the ship, and that in a world that there is no love 2 very unlikely characters can experience it, which adds a brilliant touch of beauty to an already extremely beautiful plot.

Luckily Pixar did not go down the road of thinking that a film which is visually amazing will automatically do well and they have created an excellent plot and used it's visual excellence to really bring that alive.

My view of Wall-E as i left was it is the greatest portrayal of love in a film ever but the problem is it needs something more than that if it attempts to be something more, which as a Pixar film it is doomed to have to be funny, and it is, just not enough.


Rating: ****/*****
Reasons to watch it: Greatest representation of love in a film, ever, Wall-E is undeniably cute.
Best Bit: When Wall-E shows EVE his various sacred pieces of rubbish in his quaint home
What it needs: More humour
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What were they thinking?! 1

There's been points in films where at some point, something happened that made you lose all faith in the film.
I hope to showcase some of the best examples of that, starting with a humdinger from Spring 2007.

Yes it's the infamous Spiderman 3 dance scene



What were they thinking?!
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Review: The Dark Knight

My tickets worked. :)

The Dark Knight. It was a mission in itself to try and get an objective view of this film after all the hype, marketing, and Ledger's death in January. However, I felt eventually the anticipation served me well, and even if it is a little subjective, who cares? I'm 17 and have been looking forward to this film for 10 months.

The first thing to say about it is it's long. Really, very long. In fact, when we reached what I thought to be the climax in the film, we turned out to be just halfway through the film! The second thing is to say about it is... it's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Almost every performance is captivating and memorable, the set pieces are beautiful, and the storyline is engaging on an emotional, physical and humourous level. Of course, Ledger's performance shines brightest, but Gary Oldman provides a terrific performance as Jim Gordon as well, a tragically overlooked character amidst the real comic-book stylized heroes and villains.

Another surprisingly impressive thing about this film is the size of Two-Face's role in the film. Yes, Dent features prominently, but his post-fuck-up alter ego features is the film for a good 40 minutes. And yes, you see everything. Every detail of his horrific, disfigured face. Aaron Eckhaart was brilliantly cast here, he's a true hero, for the first half anyway. Then as the sneer of Two-Face settles in he's just as at home, flipping his coin to determine who lives and who dies. It's a tragic story, this film, all the interlinking plot lines and characters, none of them side stories or support actors. This 154-minute epic runs it's entire length cramming it full of relevance, hardly any of it dispensable.

Your jaw will drop. You'll gasp, you'll even laugh, this is the legacy of Ledger, he takes so much from the audience, more than anyone else in the film. From his semi-legendary pencil-pushing magic trick to his transvestite disguise in the second act. You'll find yourself loving the Joker even though he offers nothing for you to love, you'll cheer him on as he blows up a hospital, as he carves scars into the sides of a mobster's face. You'll love every moment of Ledger's screentime and he deserves it. It's an epic performance that will go down relentlessly in history, fuck you, Jack Nicholson.

To summarise, see this film to believe it. Not only for Ledger, not only for Batman, not only to knock Mamma Mia! off the number 1 spot in the UK Box Office but because it's incredible. The Dark Knight is here, and won't go way until it's sure it's secured itself a plac ein the history books, Batman's voice will irritate, but so what?

Rating: *****
Sequel: Probably, David Tennant for Riddler!
Best Moment:The last five minutes, probably the darkest of the film, with a Superb monologue from Oldman

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Emperors New Groove

I know this probably isn't a review that you'd be expecting to see on here but i watched this film last week because of my sudden, strange want to see Disney films that i hadn't before, and i felt i had to review it after seeing it.

The Emperors New Groove is the story of the Emperor Kuzco who plans to build a summer home on top of a hill which unfortunately is the home of peasant Pacha, who lives and simple and busy life but still stands by a set of morals despite having to live a peasant life. The plot is changed when the evil adviser to Kuzco decides to plot against him and turns him into a llama with the help of her minion Kronk. From this point onwards the plot escalates into a tale of morals and comparison between it's two main characters.

As much as i enjoyed The Emperors New Groove, which i did, i felt it was a film you can watch without too much ease and enjoy either way, i did feel that it did not meet the mark that most Disney films seem to. Though the film set out to be a comedy with morals it failed by it's own definition slightly with a lack of humour, most of the humour coming from the character Kronk but still making it infrequent and a very simple story about morals which was not expanded on much at all, basically saying that no matter how different you are you can always be friends, this was shown but not to an extent that it shaped the film, what this film really needed was a montage like so much over Disney films of the relationship between Kuzco and Pacha, but seeing as this film lacked music that was nowhere to be seen.

With a lack of music, romance, and with infrequent humour the plot cannot go anywhere except make a few good jokes along the way, and unfortunately because of the lack of romance, music etc. it unravelled the plot to be simple and just look like a journey back to a palace (which is what most of the plot is) whereas something like Shrek has a very simple plot but the audience never find it to be simple or tedious because of it's frequent humour, romance, music and much more.

Another problem i found with this film was they based a film mainly around the Emperor Kuzco but the character himself was never given any of the decent jokes and there is so much spent showing the audience that he is an annoying, spoilt emperor that it is slightly unclear of a change in him as a person, thus weakening the point of basing this plot around morals and by taking away the romance etc. it's really weakening Disney's shield of this being a success as a film.

The film did end up seeming like it was just a massive chance for the character of Kronk to make some good jokes and i couldn't help but think that it was just a test film for Disney so they could work out how to make better films by making one average one, neverthless i did enjoy the character of Kronk to a very large extent, unlike Kuzco he was well written and was given a lot of jokes, and because of this it is in Kronk that most of the attention is given and it ends up that Kronk is the character that keeps fighting so that Disney has some very thin shield helping them defend from the inevitable word 'flop'.

I would respect Disney more if this was just a test film wherein they would ideaolise the character of Kronk and work out how well a Disney film can do without it's main genre's but unfortunately that is very unlikely and it does just seem like a disregard to their usual standards of Disney classic.

The main problem with this film is that it doesn't provide enough to the audience, it will keep audiences amused but never wanting more after the film has finished except of the character Kronk.


Rating: ***/*****
Why watch it: Kronk, and if you need a film which you don't need to pay much attention to
What does it need: A Montage!!!!!!
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