Another day, another Jason Statham film: As always, Statham plays a gruff, hard-as-nails hard man, here, he's harassed by the Russian mob and a precinct of corrupt NY cops. He's contemplating suicide when he saves a Chinese schoolgirl from the same gang of thugs that made his life a misery, turns out she's a maths genius wanted by the Russians, Triads and the cops in order to get a number she's memorized, which opens a safe full of money. Cue bullets, bloodshed, Statham's dodgy American accent, some head cracking violence and a quiver of pithy one-liners, as 'The Stath' takes it upon himself to clean house and save the day; vowing to the keep the girl safe and get to the actual safe (see what they did there?) before the bad guys. Needless to say, that equals an hour or so of well-paced, well-choreographed chaos and carnage. 'Safe' is an eminently watchable, instantly forgettable but entertaining movie that harks back to 90's action thrillers like 'Hard Target' and 'Mercury Rising' and ought to please Statham fans.
Just five years on from the last of Sam Raimi's trilogy, 'The Amazing Spider-Man' brings the web-shooting hero back to the big screen to start the whole thing over again. This time Marc Webb is on directing duties while Andrew Garfield takes over as Peter Parker.
As a huge fan of the original films I was sceptical about the need for another telling of this story, especially so soon after the last one. Unfortunately, the whole film just feels unnecessary and offers little more than a profound sense of deja vu. As I watched I began matching each scene to its corresponding scene in the original Spider-Man, and found myself longing to see Tobey Maguire again. It's not that Garfield is bad, it's just that he's not given much to do beyond follow the path we already know the ending to. Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) is introduced as his love interest in place of Mary-Jane, which shows the filmmakers are at least trying to change things up a bit. Stone does well as Stacey, but her relationship with Parker strikes many of the same notes that Mary-Jane did.
The villian this time around is Dr. Curt Connors aka The Lizard (Rhys Ifans). The special effects when Connors turns into The Lizard look a little odd and brought some chuckles from the audience I was in. Not exactly what you want from your terrifying monster. At 136 minutes, there was plenty of time to tell the story yet the pacing felt completely off. It seemed like a lifetime before the first appearance of Spidey's suit and the final battle arrived before there was any time to enjoy Spider-Man's vigilante antics.
It seems to me that the filmmakers have forgotten that a large portion of their audience are children. The film fails to balance the weighty themes of responsibility and power with the light hearted scenes that made Raimi's trilogy so accessible. Take for example, Parker trying out his new abilities for the first time. Where we would expect to hear a lively, exciting soundtrack, 'Till Kingdom Come' by Coldplay is chosen instead. I like the song fine but its use in this scene is such a strange decision. It dulls down the excitement of seeing Parker harness his powers and would be more at home in a teenage drama series.
With the news announced this week that this is the first of a planned trilogy I can only hope that the next film tries to tell a Spider-Man story we haven't all heard before.
Making a prequel to one of the most celebrated science-fiction movies of all time was always going to be a bit of a gamble. There was a danger that director Ridley Scott's return to the world of 'Alien' - more than thirty years after his classic earlier movie exploded onto the sci-fi scene - was going to be something of a disappointment, and would somehow undermine the original by revealing too much about its mysteries, or by explaining too much about the origins of the iconic black xenomorphs that plagued Ellen Ripley throughout that franchise.
Happily, those fears can be put to rest - because not only does 'Prometheus' manage to tread a fine line between revealing secrets that shed more light on the original 'Alien' and maintaining much of that film's ambiguity, it also creates a brand new and intriguing story that allows it to stand as a compelling and highly thought-provoking movie in its own right.
From the very start, there's a sense that Scott is consciously creating a different tone for the world of 'Prometheus' than he did for the one we saw in 'Alien' - albeit including enough shared details to remind us that both films are set in the same universe.
Instead of drenching the screen in black shadows and squeezing characters into a dirty, confined space, this prequel feels far more organic and open. Whether it's the opening shot of a planetary alignment, an introductory sequence in which an extra-terrestrial humanoid "Engineer" sacrifices himself in order to kick-start human evolution, or the grand, sweeping aerial shots that follow, this is a film that feels altogether more epic than its predecessors. This gives Scott the wider canvas that's needed if he's to effectively address some of the movie's Big Questions about life, the universe and everything - rather than simply trying to scare us silly. Because this is definitely a film that's as interested in exercising our minds as it is in getting our hearts racing.
In that sense, it feels like 'Prometheus' has less in common with the 'Alien' franchise than it does with the likes of '2001: A Space Odyssey' (and Scott isn't afraid to hit us with several references and visual homages to that 1960s classic in the opening act). But unlike that movie, 'Prometheus' ties its existential questions (Where did we come from? What is the meaning of life?) to a more tangible plot that allows the movie to function as a sci-fi thriller as well as a cerebral workout. By the time our heroes - intrepid space-explorers/archaeologists Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway - reach the mysterious moon that they believe holds answers about the origins of life on Earth, we're already getting the sense that the company funding their mission might have more sinister objectives than mere scientific discovery, and it isn't long before an exploratory visit to an apparently Engineer-built structure gives way to the claustrophobia and grisly shocks that will be familiar to lovers of 'Alien'.
It's this delicate balance of serious, thought-provoking science-fiction with visceral thrills and spills that turns out to be the movie's greatest asset, giving us something for our brains to chew on whilst our eyes are entertained by the gradual disintegration of the crew of the ship. Some reviewers have been less than kind about some of the film's plot twists, most notably claiming that characters often make stupid and illogical choices in order to give Scott the opportunity to raise the bodycount at any available opportunity. But for my money, these minor problems are more than outweighed by the fact that the inevitable thinning-out of the cast allows the movie to focus far more on character-based horror, ensuring that we really feel the pain and disgust of each character as they're pursued by the alien threat.
Special mention has to go to the performance of Noomi Rapace (she of the 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' series), who brings a particularly unsettling scene - involving an emergency medical pod - to life in a way that makes it the most gripping and terrifying scene of the entire movie.
As well as solid scares, there are several extremely clever touches that stand out more on a second and third viewing, thus making 'Prometheus' a perfect candidate for a home-video purchase. Firstly, there's the fact that the entire film is a reworking of the original Greek Prometheus myth, which taught us the danger of daring to meddle with the power of the gods. The details might be different, but the themes are universal and eternal, and strengthen the movie's overall story considerably. Secondly, I couldn't help but notice on a second viewing how canny Scott had been with his characters' names: Shaw (or should that be "sure"?) is a model of unshakeable confidence and faith, whilst her partner Holloway takes the "hollow way" of placing all his confidence in science, without backing it up with any sense of spirituality. And finally, the smart links that 'Prometheus' crafts between its story and that the 'Alien' franchise - largely during this movie's final minutes - add extra depth to the entire franchise, without undermining it or giving too many answers away.
As you can tell, I could probably wax lyrical about how much I love 'Prometheus' all day. What could have been little more than a bolt-on to the 'Alien' franchise has turned out to be a fantastic story in its own right, and one that actually manages to trump its predecessors by offering up a fair share of genuinely thought-provoking questions to go along with the masterful horror/thriller elements.
And on Blu-Ray, the movie is even better, with several supplemental features that will add a huge amount of intrigue for lovers of the movie. As well as an alternative opening (which makes the meaning of the existing version a little more explicit), the Blu-Ray includes an alternate ending (which I won't spoil here, except to say that it's actually more of an alternate penultimate scene than an ending) along with a host of deleted scenes that largely exist to flesh out smaller moments from the movie a little more fully. There's also a very interesting alternate take on one of the movie's big action scenes that doesn't really work, but provides some insight into what other angles the filmmakers were exploring. And as well as all these supplemental scenes, there are commentaries and documentaries that will give fans even more of a window into the genesis and development of 'Prometheus', including some great shots of production art that didn't make it into the final feature.
All in all, this is a pretty comprehensive package, especially for a first-release of a film that only came out this year. There might well be more extensive versions of the film released in future (I'm surprised a director's cut hasn't been confirmed yet), but for now, this is a great way to experience what I think is one of the best sci-fi movies of the last ten years.
Ghostbusters is my favourite film of all time. It has lots of action, crazy characters annd amazing special effects. My favourite part is when Ray walks up to the ghost librarian and he shouts at it and she turns into a massive monster and she screams at him and they all run off. I give Ghostbusters a 5 star because it has everything a good film needs. Comedy, action, adventure and the best actors!
Ashes and Dimonds is the final part in director Andrzej Wajda's so-called "War Trilogy". The series, which chronicled the tragic experiences of ordinary Poles during the Second World War, began with Wajda's debut feature, A Generation (1955) and was followed by the Cannes prize-winning Kanal (1956), a harrowing depiction of the Warsaw uprisings. Ashes and Diamonds, however, is the most accomplished and complex of the three, and is often hailed as the greatest of all Polish films.
At its centre is the character of Maciek, one of the most memorable anti-heroes in post-war European cinema. Here is a figure who spoke to both the generation of Poles who fought and died during the war and the nation's increasingly rebellious youth in the late 1950s, when the film was released. The brilliance of this characterisation comes not only from the writing, but also from the acting of Zbigniew Cybulski, who is often referred to as Poland's answer to Marlon Brando or James Dean. His performance is a remarkably physical one and in his hands Maciek becomes an intelligent, sensitive and rebellious figure, a far cry from the simple proletarian heroes typical of Eastern Block Socialist Realist cinema, who obediently sacrifices themselves to the cause. This newfound complexity is representative of the so-called 'thaw', the period of de-Stalinisation which took effect in the late 1950s, and similarly conflicted, human characters can be seen in contemporary Soviet films of the time, such as Mikhail Kalatozov's The Cranes are Flying (1957) and Grigoriy Chukhray's Ballad of a Soldier (1959).
However, Ashes and Diamonds is never one sided and rather presents a remarkable even-handed portrait of a country divided against itself. Szczuka, the Communist official Mackek is ordered to assassinate is no one-dimensional Bolshevik. Rather, he is a decent, sympathetic man; a veteran of two wars who wishes only to be reunited with his son. When he eventually dies in the younger man's arms, the sound of gunfire ironically drowned out by the fireworks set off to mark the official beginning of peace, it is a moment of genuine tragedy.
Despite the film's care not to take sides, it proved controversial with hard-line critics and the authorities in Poland, who thought, not entirely incorrectly, that Wajda romanticised a protagonist who was a member of a renegade, anti-Communist organization. As a result, the state refused to allow the film to compete at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival and did not allow Wajda to the out-of-competition premiere that the Festival organized. Moreover, the director remembers that the film was only given a limited release in its native Poland. Nevertheless, the film was an international sensation and slowly became a national classic.
Ashes and Diamonds is a richly symbolic and at times darkly ironic masterpiece which should be in every cineaste's collection. The new edition from Arrow Films contains both a DVD and a Blu Ray disc. Both transfers offer a noticeable improvement on their previous DVD release, although the High Definition disc is particularly stunning and brings out the best in Jerzy Wójcik's cinematography, with its deep focus compositions, stark contrasts and nods to German Expressionism, Film Noir and, perhaps above all, Citizen Kane (which is not too grand a comparison to make). There is also a booklet, which reprints some fine critical appraisals of the film and a slightly rambling video introduction by the octogenarian director, which nevertheless puts the film into its proper historical and political context and is more than worth watching. Wajda is not only one of Poland's greatest filmmakers, he is perhaps its finest chronicler of Poland's turbulent history in the second half of the twentieth century and viewers would do well to check out some of his other films which are currently on DVD, such as A Generation; Kanal; the underrated Innocent Sorcerers; the Palm D'Or winning Man of Iron; and the more recent, Katyn, made in 2007, which details Stalin's execution of thousands of Polish soldiers and intellectuals in the early 1940, including Wajda's own father. Ashes and Diamonds, however, remains Wajda's masterpiece, and one of the richest and most moving works in all of European cinema.
Wajda is one of the finest directors ever to emerge from Europe and he has made more than his share of masterpieces: Kanal, Landscape After Battle, Man of Marble, Danton and even the more recent Katyn. However, for many, Ashes and Diamonds remains not only his, but also his country's greatest film; this new edition makes it all the more easy to understand why.
The action of Ashes and Diamonds takes place over the course of a single day: the 8th of May 1945, the final day of the Second World War. However, for Andrzej (Adam Pawlikowski) and Maciek (Zbigniew Cybulski), two soldiers in the outlawed Polish Home Army, the hostilities are not over. The pair has been ordered to assassinate a leading Communist official, Szczuka (Waclaw Zastrzezynski). However, when their first attempt fails and results in the deaths of two innocent factory workers, they retire to a busy hotel to wait for a second opportunity. While there falls for the hotel's beautiful young barmaid, Krystyna (Ewa Krzyzewska), and begins to long for a normal life. Andrzej, however, reminds his young friend of his duty and warns him that failure to execute his orders would be tantamount to desertion.
The Alvarez brothers need to save their father's ranch from financial ruin. Armando Alvarez (Will Ferrell) has lived and worked on the ranch in Mexico since he was a child, but unfortunately it's his younger brother Raul (Diego Luna) that got all the brains in this family.
To make things even worse, Armando witnesses a murder and unintentionally gets involved in a war with a fearsome drug lord Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal). Then Raul arrives to help and it seems that everything will be ok. He has even brought with him his new smoking hot fiancé, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez). All the financial troubles seem to be over as he has a vest fortune from his work as an 'international businessman'. But things get even more complicated when Armando falls in love with Sonia and then Raul himself is exposed as a crook.
Casa de mi Padre is the first all Spanish speaking role for Will Ferrell and he speaks the language as if he were a native. His trademark charisma and comic timing do not let him down and he is brilliantly supported by the ever likable pair, Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal, both native Spanish speakers and also born naturals in comic roles. So the cast is an all star affair, a fantastic cast, a trio of funny men. But sadly the script is somewhat of a letdown. It's not to say that there are not laughs on offer here, only too few to keep the film going - even for the truncated run time of just 84 minutes. You'd think it'd fly by but sadly at times it drags horribly. Perhaps it's the sub titles that make the comedy or the story harder to follow, I have to admit I've never been a fan of sub titles. I like to watch the performances of the characters, the nuances on their faces, sub titles do make this more difficult so perhaps that does go some way to explaining my lack of liking for this film.
The storyline is good and the direction is solid. The performances were good but as a whole I didn't feel that everything truly clicked into place. It's interesting seeing Ferrell in a Spanish speaking role and it must have been a genuine treat for Spanish speaking viewers who would not have their appreciation somewhat marred by the sub titles. It does give you an idea of what the rest of the world has to put up with when they watch any English speaking films which must make up the vast, vast majority of films that are released.
To sum it up I'd say that Casa de mi Padre is sporadically funny, has likable leads and is well directed, but is ultimately marred by a slightly weak script and the fact that having to read what is being said on screen detracts just that bit too much from the film for full appreciation of the film.
The Magical Mystery (INC.) tour
Unfortunately, against my consent, the much praised Cabin In The Woods passed me by in its cinema run, I had to settle with watching the controversial horror at home; but with all the talk will the Cabin In The Woods be a real Scream or just another Nightmare?
Too many movies today make sense, that's what I think. Too many stay on the straight and narrow of having some kind of tangible logic to them. It's good to see that there are still some horror movies that are unafraid to be truly MENTAL. Enter (The) Cabin In The Woods, here is a movie that makes nothing even resembling coherent until the last 8 minutes, and you know what? It couldn't care less.
That's why I like Cabin In The Woods, because it doesn't care if you like it or not, it's just supposed to be a big pile of fun and is. Cabin lays out it's cards very early on, any opening that makes no sense within the confines of the plot but is funny, then directly cuts straight to an attractive women in her underwear packing; knows it's audience. If you don't get the right feel for the movie from that opening then you'll have NO fun at all, and that's very much the dish of the day with Cabin In The Woods. fun.
It even gives us 5 characters who are deliberately cut from stereotypes (no seriously, it's on purpose and relative to the story), however I can't be the only one thinking that the 5 kids also have more than a passing resemblance to Mystery Inc. We have Danna who is the "Brains" and takes the role of Velma (played by Kristen Connolly), Freddy or the jock is played by Chris "Thor" Hemsworth. Daffny, The Model is taken by Anna Hutchison. Freedy, the joker and stoner is portrayed by Fran Kranz, Kranz is the most notable, he is clearly modelled after Shaggy, I half expected him to come say "Jinkins!" during the feature. Finally, Jesse Williams is left outside and forced to be Scooby. All the cast understand they are there to both pay homage and send up the very genre they are shooting. Personally, I was impressed by Hemsworth and Kranz most.
Of course, I'm totally ignoring that Cabin In The Woods has a second plot that is near free standing from the cabin scenario, that being the one with the "controllers", but the less said about those the better. The controllers are where the comedy lies for Cabin and they know it.
I'm also ignoring talking about any horror aspects of this horror movie, I think that's because in Cabin In The Woods horror should be seen in inverted quotations, the "horror" is only used as a device for the rest of the fun, however Cabin resists the urge to take any cheap "Scar" shots, it always keeps its integrity, no matter how bizarre it gets.
The Cabin In The Woods is the horror film we all have always wanted, as long as you can switch off and embrace the madness you'll love it. It's a little bit Scream, with some 13 Ghosts, a dash of Kill List, and a chunk of Cabin Fever.
Tell me if you've heard this one before, 5 teens (of varying intelligences) decide to go on a long vacation to a remote cabin in a secluded woods for a weekend of fun (in all the ways that can be imagined), however, when sinister forces come knocking the body count begins to rise.
Most entertaining western highly recommended
Excellent period drama about the friendship and professional rivalry between 20th century intellectuals Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen): Based on the play by Christopher Hampton, 'A Dangerous Method' explores the early years of psychiatry and revolves around Jung's adulterous affair with a patient; hysterical Jewess Sabina Speilrein (Kiera Knightley).
Cult Canadian director David Cronenberg's first foray into this genre is a resounding success, for he speeds through the years at a commendable pace and by doing so ensures that he makes the film as streamlined as possible. In fact, looking back, there wasn't a single unnecessary scene and every word served a purpose. Fassbender and Mortensen are superb in their respective roles, and its impossible to chose one performance over the other as they re-enact an epic meeting of minds on the battlefield of ideas: In the absence of an established orthodoxy; psychiatry, a pseudo-science to some, an invaluable tool for others, was more or less a free-for-all with competing theories and academics trying to impose an agreed upon set of rules for this new, potentially lucrative, profession. And so we see Freud's rather pompous, rigid and dogmatic approach to psychoanalysis at odds with Jung's more open minded ventures into parapsychology and the altogether blasphemous idea that psychiatry can also cure a troubled mind as opposed to simply define the ailment afflicting it.
Vincent Cassell makes a memorable cameo as anarchic, off-the-wall thinker Otto Gross who declares that Freud's insistence to relate everything back to sex is simply because "...he doesn't get any", this joke crops up again with the good doctor's hilarious interpretation of Jung's dream about a horse & cart. Freud's paranoia about anti-Semitism is also addressed, and the film subtly suggests that this persecution complex, though understandable to some degree, actually betrays his own anti-Christian bias and makes an issue out of something that isn't there. Even going so far as to wrongly suspect Jung's intentions towards Sabine, based purely upon the fact that she's a Jew and that he belongs to the "Aryan" race.
Now it has to be said, that in stark contrast to the stellar performances by Mortensen and Fassbender, it was Kiera Knightley's portrayal of Sabine Seligman that stuck out like a sore thumb. Knightley initially overacts to such an extent that it seems like she's in a different film altogether, they even make her utter the unintentionally comedic line: "I'm not mad, you know". At first, this was enough for me to reconsider my rating but on reflection, she is supposed to be playing a character whose suffering from hysteria and she does reign it in about 15 minutes into the film so it doesn't take you out of the story other than in the first few, OTT scenes.
'A Dangerous Method' won't appeal to everyone, there's hardly any action and it does require some patience to get into, but once the narrative gets going, it makes for an engaging and often fascinating account of the academic and social experience in 1900s Austria.
It's a brave sequel that abandons everything that was popular and distinctive about its predecessors. Yet that's exactly what "Rec 3: Genesis" does. The first two films in the Rec series of zombie-based Spanish horror movies were notable for their claustrophobic feel (almost all the action took place in a single narrow apartment block), their vicious and fast-moving zombie villains, and - above all else - the 'found footage' hand-held camera approach to shooting the movies. Both Rec 1 and Rec 2 also feel particularly closely bound-together because the action of the second picks up immediately after the end of the first, giving a strong feeling of a coherent and closely-connected narrative - and the second movie ends on a killer cliffhanger that sets things up very nicely for a third.
Rec 3, however, unceremoniously jettisons all of that. Gone is the confining apartment building, replaced instead by a sprawling country estate that's hosting a lavish wedding. Gone are the 28-Days-Later-style super-zombies, replaced instead by more traditional, George Romero-esque shuffling, mindless drones. And although the hand-held camera approach does manage to survive until about twenty minutes into the third movie (in the form of a wedding video), even that is ultimately abandoned in favour of a far more conventional filmed approach.
It all feels like a conscious attempt to separate this third movie from the first two, and to inject some new life into the franchise by (ironically) taking a back-to-basics traditional approach to the zombie genre. But does it work? Well, sadly, the answer is "not really".
In consciously avoiding the elements that made the first two films so distinctive, this third movie inevitably ends up feeling like it has less of an identity of its own - instead, it feels more like any number of zombie B-movies you could name. Admittedly, there are still one or two deftly-handled shocks and gory moments, but they're few and far between in a film that feels as much like a comedy as it does a horror movie. The central conceit of a wedding being trashed by a zombie infection is a potentially great one, but it's thrown away in favour of a slapstick approach that always opts for laughs over shocks when faced with the choice. As a dumb-but-fun slice of silliness in the mould of "Shaun of the Dead" or "Evil Dead: Army of Darkness", it succeeds - but that represents a step down for a franchise that had so far thrived on being so smart, unpredictable and original.
Admittedly, there are some positive elements: the cast are all fairly decent and believable, there are some inspired gags (such as the Spongebob Squarepants impersonator who changes his name for legal reasons), and the plot allows for some great visuals - including a wedding disco that's rudely interrupted by a blood-splattered suicide leap from an infected partygoer, and a later scene in which the bride picks up a chainsaw and goes zombie-hunting whilst still sporting her ruined wedding dress. But these are outweighed by contrived plot points (such as the sudden power of religious texts to incapacitate an entire army of zombies), a rather dull and undramatic overall storyline, and a lack of any real drama to give the surprisingly serious ending the weight it demands. Oh, and the film's "genesis" subtitle - which promises so much in terms of the franchise's unrevealed secret origins - is totally misleading, as we don't really get any extra backstory to help further explain the action of Rec 1 and Rec 2.
Whilst it's a fun enough way to spend an hour and a half, Rec 3 ends up as a lesser addition to the franchise, and one that turns out to be just like the zombies that populate it: it's simply crying out for more brains.
Delightful maggie smith with her droll sence of humour helps makes this series a must see with all the ups and downs of life during the war in a stately home
With Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Nick fury what more could you want? A great story line or non stop action pre-haps ,well what ever it is you want from this movie it's got all and after a five film build up the Avengers have finally assembled in this unbelievable movie phenomenon.
absolutely brilliant! i loved it! great acting, great cast, original story line and great comedic values. well worth seeing if you havent already!
this film is the greatest film I have ever whatched sometimes a bit sad and funny but I love it.
"I'm hoping we can move away from the soap-y relationship-y stuff and into bigger, fast-paced, self-contained escapades."
Abed Nadir, 'Anthropology 101', Season 2, Episode 1
So here I am, once again trying to convince you, good find-dvd.co.uk readers, to watch my beloved Community. The second season is finally being released on Region 2 and I think it would be a wise decision to pick up a copy.
Going into its second season, there was a lot of expectation on Community. Going from strength to strength in season one, culminating near the end of the season with one of the year's most talked about episodes, 'Modern Warfare', fans and critics alike were eager to see what the next step for the show would be. The result was more than anyone could have expected. Community Season 2 ranks as one of the most creative and ambitious season of television ever produced (at least in this humble reviewer's opinion).
After laying the groundwork of the characters and their relationships in season one, the writers were free to explore their creativity in expanding the unique Greendale world. From space missions to zombies, claymation to documentaries, surreal storylines to genuine emotional moments; season two of Community has a wealth of riches spread over 24 episodes. In 'Mixology Certification', Troy's 21st birthday leads to a gang taking a trip to a local bar to celebrate. This episode, though full of funny moments, is a more sombre affair, with the group finding themselves reflecting on their flaws and insecurities, which enables Troy to come to a significant realisation in his life. This episode is a brilliant depiction of growing up and Troy's storyline will resonate with young and old.
'Cooperative Calligraphy' sees a missing pen resulting the group turning on one another in the search for its whereabouts. For my money, this is the best Community episode ever. The script is flawless, the performances are terrific and the episode seems to convey and include everything that is great about the show within itself. Playing with a television convention (in this case, a bottle episode) in order to facilitate character growth? Check. Characters acting hilarious though maintaining believability? Check. The group going through an ordeal only to come out stronger at the end? Check-a-roony. In there's an episode to cement Community's place amongst the great TV shows of our time, it's this one.
Community's creator, Dan Harmon, was eager to push the boundaries of what a 22 minute network comedy could do and this season is littered with episodes that would not have been attempted by any other show. Case in point, 'Critical Film Studies', widely advertised as 'Community does Pulp Fiction!', turned out to be about something very different, and very un-promotable. Harmon was recently fired after completion of the show's third season and he claims that the decision was made early in the season. It therefore makes sense that it was his running of the show in this second season that prompted this decision. How many other showrunners would be willing to risk their job, and indeed lose it, in striving to retain their unique vision for the show? This is what makes Dan Harmon and his Community a shining light amongst a bland television landscape.
The bonus features are, once again, a great addition to the set. These include:
- Commentary on every episode. Some feature more laughs than others, some with more interesting behind-the-scenes tidbits. All worth a listen.
- Outtakes on all four discs. Combined, these run longer than the length of an episode and are just as funny. Highlight: Alison Brie rapping/Donald Glover impersonating Alison Brie rapping.
- Featurettes on The Paintball finale and the stop-motion Christmas episode. Both feature fascinating insight into production and the speed and complexity of the shooting process.
- Cast evaluations. Dan Harmon chatting straight-faced to the cast. Very awkwardly funny.
When I wrote my season one review, Community had just been placed on hiatus in the middle of its third season. Gladly, it came back and finished season three with a great run of episodes and was renewed for a 13 episode fourth season. While Dan Harmon being gone is a sucker punch, many previous writers are returning and the new showrunners have insisted they do not intend to, or want to, chang(e) anything about the show. It is my hope that season four will continue, and possibly finish, the Community I know and love. Hopefully when I write my season three DVD review I can finish with a paragraph about how the show recently finished its final season and was just as great as ever. I hope.
Standout episodes: Cooperative Calligraphy, Mixology Certification, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Epidemiology, Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas
Over the last couple of years, one of the hottest emerging sub-genres - aside from the now ludicrously overpopulated "found-footage" horror film -has been the Anti-Rom-Com.
Although the origins of this less sanguine brand of romantic comedy can be traced back at least as far as Woody Allen's 1977 masterpiece Annie Hall, Hollywood has recently become particularly fond of films that riff on the schmaltzy, unrealistic nature of the likes of When Harry Met Sally.
Most of these films fall down by becoming the very thing they were designed to satirise; unable to resist the temptation of a fairytale ending and afraid of audience revolt if the two best looking people on screen don't end up living together, they simply become Rom-Coms.
The highlight so far of this new wave of more cynical comedy has been the gleefully inventive 500 Days of Summer, thanks in no small part to its willingness to avoid the aforementioned traps.
Friends With Benefits does decidedly less well in this regard.
The plot would seem perfect for a more modern, less idealistic look at how modern relationships really function: Dylan (Justin Timberlake) and Jamie (Mila Kunis) are two friends who, sick of constantly finding themselves in unsatisfying relationships, decide to augment their happy friendship by adding sex to their list of shared activities.
No intimacy, no romance, just sex.
The question of whether two people can sleep together without becoming romantically entangled is a very interesting and highly topical subject to base a film on but one that is pretty much squandered by the movie's unwillingness to take any risks; sticking rigidly to the default rom-com storyline with such vehemence that you could watch it with a list of generic romantic-comedy plot-points and be completely confident of ticking them all off before the end credits roll.
In fairness, it does this with a certain amount of self-awareness: at heart, Jamie is a true romantic who spends much of her time indulging in "Prince Charming" fantasies by watching the schmaltziest of romantic-comedies. By having her and Dylan mock the various tropes and clichés of such cheesy date-movies, it allows for them to then slyly wink at the audience as their own story indulges in each and every one of them.
Acknowledging the irony of making a generic rom-com that mocks generic rom-coms might not make doing so entirely forgivable but it does make the hypocrisy involved more amusing than it would otherwise have been.
At this point you might be wondering why I've given such a positive score to a film that
I've essentially deemed a failure. The main factor in elevating it above the realm of the by-the-numbers romantic comedy is how inescapably likeable its cast is.
Timberlake and Kunis have been on the rise for the last couple of years, giving great performances in Oscar-winning dramas (The Social Network & Black Swan respectively) as well as showing their comedic skills in the lighter likes of Ted, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the decidedly underrated In Time. (Seriously; horrendous time-puns aside, it really wasn't that bad)
Here they make for an immensely entertaining duo with great chemistry and a very believable knack for friendly banter. Getting the audience to root for the main couple is really half the battle in this sort of film and Dylan and Jamie are so much fun to watch that they actually enable the entire film to rise above its own total lack of originality.
Their supporting cast is also on good form, especially the incomparable Woody Harrelson who plays an overtly homosexual co-worker of Dylan's and, whilst few of the jokes involving him are particularly sophisticated, his mere presence is enough to make them genuinely amusing.
Having shot to fame in Director Will Gluck's more critically acclaimed previous film Easy A, Emma Stone returns for a very brief but very funny appearance as Dylan's soon-to-be ex-girlfriend and there are a couple of great cameos from snowboarding legend Shaun White and ex-Hero Masi Oka.
One of the film's strongest performances, though, comes from Richard Jenkins as Dylan's Alzheimer's-afflicted father. However, I personally found the inclusion of this particular sub-plot to be a little exploitative as it basically comes across as a cheap attempt to endow the film with more emotional depth than it actually has. Shoehorning in a plotline about Dylan's attempts to deal with his father's deteriorating mental state was clearly supposed to add another, more serious dimension to the character and the film itself but the issue is given such little screen-time as to prevent the film from really dealing with it in the kind of depth that such a subject really requires.
The only other minor ethical qualm that one could possibly have with this film (assuming you're not one of these crazy ultra-conservative types liable to have a heart-attack upon discovering the meaning of the term "friends with benefits") is its utterly shameless use of product placement.
I'm not really one to get too bent out of shape about this issue, I'm fairly confident that the artistic integrity of cinema can withstand the inclusion of a few conspicuously placed beverages or mobile phones, but it is so prevalent within Friends With Benefits as to become slightly distracting, especially when the film briefly transforms into a PlayStation Move advert.
That said, the advantage of making a comedy is that the film can basically make a joke of the total lack of effort being made to conceal the endorsement deals that funded it; you can almost see its stars smirking as they hold their laptops at just an awkward enough angle to ensure the logo is visible throughout the scene.
In the end, despite its total failure to capitalise on a potentially original and intriguing premise, Friends With Benefits makes for very easy and actually very enjoyable watching, mainly thanks to the chemistry between its leading pair. It hasn't changed the landscape of romantic-comedies or even offered any real innovation upon the formulaic films that it lampoons but it does provide more than enough laughs and should have you smiling by the time it reaches its amusingly predictable conclusion.
A stunning film that has gone relatively un-noticed to the UK public but has, in my mind, one of the hardest and scariest gangster enforcer characters ever portrayed in cinema.
The opening scene has Ray Winstone (Gal) sunning his bronzed body whilst sporting gold speedo's, an image never to forget, lazing on a li-lo in his swimming pool where he just misses being crushed from a boulder falling from the cliff above. He is living the high life and making the most of his retirement somewhere in sun drenched Spain. Content and happy with all he has. Until that is, he gets the call that Don Logan is coming to see him.
It's a gripping gangster film that has some extreme violence, but moreover it's the depth and strength of the characters that carry the film all the way through to final credits.
Ben Kingsley is absolutely superb as Don Logan, sent to bring Gal back for once last heist.
Even the mention of his name sparks fear amongst Gal's wife (fantastic performance from Amanda Redman) and friends. And you can feel that fear which builds constantly until Logan arrives. Kingsley doesn't need to prove how hard or violent he is, which he does, because he plays the character so well you can sense it. You can feel his venom. A lot.
Ian McShane also provides a brilliant performance (if not his best ever) as Teddy Bass the mob boss who has set up the job. A bank robbery that takes place underwater!
A truly fantastic piece of UK film making that deserves greater audience recognition.
Without doubt Kingsley is at his magnificent best and for me plays the hardest, scariest and most threatening hard man to ever appear on film. And that's saying something.
A film to watch, enjoy and put in your list of top 25 best ever movies.
A retired mobster is asked to do one last job and against his better judgement he agree's.
Glee season 3 dvd boxset is defitantly the next big thing! whenever you down just stick an episode of glee on and it never fails to cheer you up. You experenice the whole emotional jounery with each and every one of the characters. It is truely magical, so much to watch for tears and tantrums right through to massive smiles and cheesy dance numbers. So if your looking to buy your children something speacial or their birthday, christmas or just to treat them then this is absoultely the best present you could buy.
If you had to pick out the most divisive, frustrating, beautiful film of 2011, I don't think there are many who have seen it who wouldn't immediately pick out 'The Tree of Life'. It's a film that can't be neatly wound into any kind of linear synopsis; one that you can't quite describe, explain or summarise for others - people really do have to go and see for themselves what the fuss is all about. Nevertheless, it is also a film that worms it's way inside your head and refuses to budge, so despite my reservations, I am going to attempt as much of a 'review' of the film as I suppose is possible.
For the bulk of the narrative, director Terrence Malick (Badlands, The Thin Red Line) is concerned with the childhood of Jack O'Brien (played by the excellent newcomer Hunter McCracken), a bright boy growing up in 1950's Texas with his younger brothers, looked after by his loving and gentle mother (Jessica Chastain) and a strict, unforgiving father (Brad Pitt). We witness his innocent and carefree early years, where he enjoys playing in the streets and being the apple of his mother's eye; and then the onset of early adolescence, where the suppressed rage for his father's cruel treatment of the family finally begins to emerge. You might think this sounds like any conventional 'coming-of-age' tale, but Malick films the action from idiosyncratic angles and with a distorted lens, while delicate voice-overs help highlight how each of the characters are feeling at particular moments of crisis.
And then there is the other portion of the film, which no amount of words or adjectives will be able to properly and accurately convey. Suffice to say that, interwoven throughout the primary story are scenes that at first sight have little to do with a boy's life in the 1950's. And despite being stunningly beautiful for the most part (kudos to cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) they are also genuinely confusing. We initially see Jack as an adult (now played by Sean Penn), working as an architect in an unnamed city but apparently unhappy and distanced from his family - so far so understood. But after a phone call from Jack's mother, Malick treats us to a spectacular sequence that stretches from the origins of the universe, the sun and planet Earth (all set to classical music, including Mozart's famous "Lacrimosa") to the extinction of the dinosaurs and birth of modern man. And later, after most of the film is over, we see again see Jack as an adult, now reunited with his seemingly ageless parents and siblings, no longer in a city but abandoned, or stranded on a landscape that stretches far across to the horizon. But why?
There's no denying the scenes with Sean Penn are less emotionally affecting at first; they feel too detached and irrelevant. But as the film hurtles toward it's momentous finale, we get the chance to view things from an alternative perspective, just as the adult Jack must re-evaluate his childhood in later life. Suddenly, all those 'existential' scenes that felt superfluous - the creation of the Universe, dinosaurs, dying stars, heaven? - add gravity and pathos to the message you found at the core of the picture. But the truly great thing about these abstract moments is that each one will say something different to each member of the audience, and put the 'linear' tale of the O'Brien's in a different light each time. Malick seems determined to translate the moving image into real, philosophical -and most importantly, personal - meaning.
The cast are fantastic across the board too. Pitt breaks down all those 'pretty-boy' criticisms with a raw and powerful performance of a man just trying to do good by his family according to the world in which they live, while the luminous Chastain is a model of virtue and grace. Both really make you believe in Malick's re-creation of the mid-twentieth century, but it is McCracken's performance that makes you feel the pain and confusion of growing up. He's definitely a face to watch for the future.
The picture's debut at Cannes last year was met with an outrageous mix of boos and cheers, and despite going on to win the prestigious Palme d'Or (not to mention nabbing Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Director), it continues to split opinion among critics and audiences. Some will find it pretentious, boring, too long and overwrought - and despite my love for the film I can totally see where those people are coming from. But for me my initial feelings of confusion and anxiety gently grew into admiration and respect for such a beautifully crafted picture. It's a completely original way of examining humanity's place in the universe, and if it strikes you in the right way, you won't be able to help falling for it. But whether you end up loving it or hating it, one thing's for sure - you won't be able to see it without talking about it afterwards.
Some books we read when young make impressions that stay for life. The Long Walk - Slavomir Rawicz' tale of his wartime trek to freedom from a gulag deep in arctic Siberia to Nepal, thousands of miles south - captivated me. So I was delighted when in 2010 Australian Director Peter Weir, known for such successes as 'Picnic at Hanging Rock', 'Witness', 'Dead Poet's Society', 'Master & Commander' and many others, released 'The Way Back', based on Rawicz' story. Here was a potential 'road movie' to match the best and, unlike too many book-to-film efforts, Weir does not disappoint. By his sets and camerawork he captures much of the book's key flavours: the brutality of Stalin's penal system; the desolation that is winter in Siberia; the gargantuan distances facing the escapees; the horrors of crossing the Gobi, and the sheer scale of the barrier that is the Himalayas. His actors - led by the ever-watchable Ed Harris, with Colin Farrell and Saoirse Ronan in key roles - do their bit, too, playing the parts of exhausted victims of an inhuman system, driven by an almost-animal instinct to escape, keep walking, and survive. Only through the fate of young Polish girl - played by Ronan - who joins them, do these utterly wearied and hardened men recall their inner humanity, finding in it the strength to go on.
No film could portray every detail of this incredible journey. If there is a criticism it would be that the time covering life in- and escape from- the prison camp might have been better spent on the astonishing feat of crossing the Himalayas, which the film rather underplays. Still, this is a visually stunning, and largely faithful re-telling of one of the most astonishing journeys ever undertaken. To anyone who loves 'road movies' this is a must see.
Largely faithful re-telling of Slavomis Rawicz' epic tale of a group of victims of Stalin's brutal gulag system who escape - on foot - from arctic Siberia, walking over a thousand miles south, across wilderness, desert and the highest mountains in the world, to freedom in Nepal.
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