Tom's review of Januray: Part 2

National Treasure: Book Of Secrets: Just not at all good. 4/10

Casino Royale: The best Bond ever. 8/10

The Reader: Nominated? Oscars? Best Film? 6/10

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button: See above. 6/10

Bridget Jones' Diary: You're a liar if you hate it. 7/10

Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason: Meh! 4/10

10 Things I Hate About You: One of the very, very few redeemable teen films of our time. 7/10

John Tucker Must Die: Yes, it was a girly weekend for films. 3/10

No Country For Old Men: Terrific, but there were better films released last year. 8/10
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whats next?

Well it's been a very long time since i've wrote on the blog, but i've seen a lot of films recently, 4 in the past 2 days that i have thought about reviewing.
Firstly i watched Horton Hears A Who! again, definately a 4 star film.
and the other three films i've watched were 'In Bruges' , 'Lars And The Real Girl' and 'Holes' i'll also probably put a review of something i've seen at the cinema recently (probably Slumdog Millionaire). Though i'll make my 'Holes' review fairly short seeing as i'd like to keep my reviews in the time span of 1 year.
First thing i do when i get home tomorrow shall be to write my 'In Bruges' review.
And i finally feel i've seen enough films of 2008 to reveal my award nominations and winners.
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Review of January (So far)

Because it's exams period, here's a quick overview of everything I've seen this month so far:

Slumdog Millionaire: Boyle's near-perfect film takes you through almost the entire spectrum of emotions in an unfamiliar land and culture. Beautiful.
9/10

Frost/Nixon: Terrific acting, terrific story with a real intriguing historical background. I'm ashamed to have shunned this while it was out more widely. See it as soon as possible, really.
10/10

Sleepy Hollow: Like a Sweeney Todd warm up, impressive effects for a film made at the turn of the millenium. Otherwise it's business as usual for Burton and Co.
6/10

The Simpsons Movie: Underrated and really quite funny. It's all about Homer, though.
7/10

St. Trinian's: Watching this film again really made me remember why I was so disgusted with it in the first place.
1/10

In Bruges: An updated review since my one 3 months back, it gets better with every viewing with a perfect soundtrack and beautiful dialogue. One of the best triple-acts I've ever seen. Where the hell was Gleeson's Globe and Fiennes' nomination?!
10/10

Seven Pounds: Boring, overlong and self-satisfied. No.
3/10
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Review: Role Models

The Apatow effect has really taken hold of Hollywood comedy since 2007. My favourite so far still being the arguable breakthrough film “Knocked Up” with Seth Rogen. SInce then, I’ve enjoyed the style and the actors in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Superbad and Step Brothers. There have also been those I was quite indifferent to (PIneapple Express!). I have to admit, I found myself predicting Role Model’s fate, thinking it would be cast into indifference due to one Seann William Scott, who I’ve always seen as a bit of an average film merchant.

However, my initial fears turned out to be dead wrong as I sat through Role Models, it now sits as one of my favourite modern comedies in a long time.

One reason for the success of the film has to be Paul Rudd. I first saw him as Phoebe’s husband Mike in Friends although he’s recently been more prominent on the big screen. Here, for the first time he really gets to show just what he’s capable of in this starring role (His leading bill is shared by Scott, but it’s Paul’s character who gets the bigger story). Rudd deadpans his way through a suitably amusing first act, including an unforgettable scene in a very familiar-looking coffee shop in which he berates the barista for the sizes scheme on their coffees.

“Look, dick, a Venti is a large coffee,” growls the assistant eventually
“Says who, Fellini?” scoffs Rudd, as I wonder why this man hasn’t seen a big role yet.

The Key to the film’s success lies, however in the children they are forced to mentor after a brush with the law. Rudd is assigned to now-cult hero Christopher Mintz-Plasse of Superbad, the oldest soul every inducted into “Sturdy Wings”. Christopher’s character Augie loves nothing more than spending his days traversing round the woods in a cape and plastic sword, play-acting a mediaeval fantasy battle with several hundred other enthusiasts. Rudd’s straight-faced style of comedy is perfectly suited for situations as ridiculous as this as he advises young Augie:

“Maybe you should think about losing the cape. People tend to avoid people in capes”

Scott, would you believe it, isn’t quite so lucky with his assigned child, as he is introduced to Ronnie, a small african-american kid with a penchant for tormenting his adult friends. In fact, no-one’s lasted more than a day Scott is told before he meets Ronnie. Scott, determined to break that cycle makes an effort with Ronnie, as the unimpressed child mocks his attempts at every turn. At one point, Scott agrees to stop off at a store and buy Ronnie some “OJ, but not that concentrate shit,” as he comes out, Ronnie locks the doors and has himself a mini joyride. Ronnie is by far the most foulmouthed player in this film, coming out with some excellent lines as he does it, though, such as when Rudd and Mintz-Plasse are dropped off for their daily dose of L.A.I.R.E. and Rudd says:

“OK, pick us up in two hours”
“Fuck you, Miss Daisy,” fires back Ronnie as they drive away. This film is smarter than it would have you believe.

It has the laughs, it has the brains and it has the heart. Role Models is a good start to 2008 for comedy and we can only hope it gets better from here (but not so much better that Role Models is entirely overshadowed) It’s a big film that’s thin, formulaic plot stumbles only very softly and only once or twice on the way to the customary happy ending. Despite these pitfalls, Role Models is all grown up and ready to face excellence.

8/10
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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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