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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