Cinemagoers seeking their money's worth of pure entertainment in 2010 ought to have looked no further than Mathew Vaughn's Kick-Ass. Adapted from Mark Millar's graphic novel, it tells the story of one Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) a slightly nerdy teenager who, like legions of slightly nerdy teenagers before him, spends much of his time fantasising about becoming a superhero. Unlike most of them, he decides to throw on a costume and dish out some street justice: comic-book style.
He promptly finds himself being rushed to the emergency room.
This basically sums up the first half of Kick-Ass: an amusing take on what would happen if someone actually tried to imitate the heroics of Spidey & co in the real world. It draws most of its humour from Dave's complete incompetence at fighting crime, being after all, nothing more than a regular teenage boy armed with good intentions and a couple of sticks. Perhaps not a suitable arsenal for confronting knife-wielding thugs.
This portion of the film is hampered slightly by the type of low-brow humour usually found in teen movies. The banter between Dave and his friends is especially hit-and-miss: often genuinely funny but just as often painfully crass. However, it's rescued by a strong performance from Johnson who nails the New York accent and portrays Dave as a well-intentioned if incredibly naïve young man, who genuinely wants to help people. Fixation with his English teacher aside, he's a hard character to dislike.
The film quickly changes track when Dave finds himself in trouble after yet another piece of failed crimefighting; pinned down in a flat full of angry gangsters, he is suddenly rescued by another costumed hero named Hit Girl: a foul-mouthed 12 year old who hurls obscenities at Dave's attackers before carving them up with a large spear. This scene caused a fair amount of controversy due to Hit Girl's age (Chloe Moretz was only 11 when the movie was shot) though curiously it was the swearing rather than the decapitations that provoked most of the complaints.
I say this is the turning point because from here on the film focuses more on Hit-Girl and her father and partner-in-crimefighting Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). Both are exceptionally well trained, armed to the teeth and utterly ruthless in their quest to hunt down the Mob Boss that tore their family apart.
Cage is one of the most puzzling actors in cinematic history: Oscar winning for his turn in Leaving Las Vegas, capable of great performances in great films like Raising Arizona and Adaptation but more recently coming under fire for picking big budget popcorn flicks like The Sorcerer's Apprentice and the National Treasure films in which he often looks unengaged and uninterested. Fortunately, 2010 was a great year for Cage, starring in the massively underrated Bad Lieutenant before channelling Adam West in his role as Big Daddy in Kick-Ass. He looks like he's enjoying himself throughout the film and there are few more watchable actors than Nicolas Cage when he's having fun.
However, the film's real star is Chloe Moretz, stealing every scene and introducing herself to moviegoers as one of the most talented young actors around. She takes a character that could easily have come off as a cheap, exploitative attempt to garner controversy and turns her into one of the most memorable action heroes of recent years, launching herself into the industry's spotlight whilst doing so: in the few short years since Kick-Ass's release, Moretz has worked for legendary directors Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton and is currently set to star in the new adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie.
The two work wonderfully together and Hit-Girl & Big Daddy are great characters to follow. Their fight-scenes - worlds away from the scrappy scuffles Dave winds up in - are shot with precision & style, showcasing Mathew Vaughn's talent for exquisitely choreographed action sequences. They also utilise the film's soundtrack to great effect as Hit Girl gleefully eviscerates gangsters to the sound of The Dickies' "Banana Splits" and Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation".
Vaughn's other great achievement was the way in which he and Screenwriter Jane Goldman took a deeply flawed, overly nihilistic graphic novel and made it into an immensely enjoyable film with characters the audience could really root for. By shooting the film in a colourful and intentionally cartoonish style, Vaughn gives the film a truly comic-booky feel, allowing the scenes of a 12 year old chopping people up to be entertaining in a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek sort of way. In doing so, he loses the source material's darker, more satirical edge but makes its world and characters far more enjoyable to engage with.
The only issue presented by focusing more on Hit Girl and Big Daddy is that it relegates the film's protagonist to the background. Admittedly, Dave isn't nearly as much fun to watch as the other two -one is a four foot tall ninja and the other is basically Batman- but it's still odd to see our narrator suddenly reduced to a supporting role in his own movie.
Regardless, its slick action sequences combined with stellar performances from Moretz and Cage make for one of the most outrageously entertaining films of recent years. The first half hour is dragged down slightly by hit-and-miss comedy but the introduction of Hit Girl and Big Daddy quickly elevates it to the cult status it now enjoys. And deservedly so.
Wallander, Wallander Wallander what a brilliant set of stories to watch. Delighed that series three is on it's way and well done to the writer and a big pat on one's back for Kenneth.
Fingers well and truly crossed that there will be a continuation ......
Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation is one of the most quietly beautiful films of the last decade; a deeply moving character study of two people who have become lost in their own lives.
It tells the story of Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), a middle-aged American film star and a young college graduate.
They find each other whilst alone in a foreign land trying to figure out what is missing from their lives. On the surface, neither has much to complain of: both are wealthy enough to be staying in the luxurious hotel in which they meet, are in comfortable marriages and enjoy lives free of violence, addiction or anything more dramatic than a general sense of ennui.
From a wider perspective, perhaps their troubles do seem trivial: Bob is no longer as famous as he once was and is frustrated with himself for selling out to do Japanese whisky commercials when he could be doing theatre. Charlotte has a great deal more intelligence than any of the people around her and a college degree but no real idea of what to do with either. Both are in marriages that are no-longer truly satisfying, Bob's because the romance has gone after 25 years, Charlottes because her husband's interest in her seems to be fading after only a few. Simply put, neither really love their partner the way they once did.
With a lesser cast such a story could easily have come across as nothing more than the whining of the rich and bored. Fortunately it has, in Murray and Johansson, two actors who are both immensely talented and perfectly cast. Neither come off as spoilt or self-pitying, merely unsatisfied with life; a feeling no amount of money can entirely safeguard us from.
Murray in particular is impossible not to empathise with. Bob seems simply exhausted with his own life, displaying brief glimpses of the charm that once made him a star but which he no longer has the energy to sustain for longer than is absolutely necessary to get him through the next chat show or whisky commercial. His marriage suffers similarly as he struggles to summon the energy or enthusiasm he once had for it, calling his wife each night with nothing much to say.
When around Charlotte we see him spark back into life; the desire to make her laugh or even smile revitalises him, reeling off jokes with typical Bill Murray charm.
Lost in Translation is set apart from typical Hollywood love stories by its refusal to follow the usual arc: Bob and Charlotte never declare their feelings for each other or explicitly admit that their relationship is anything more than friendship. They wind up in bed together but the most physical contact they share is when he touches her foot. By allowing their relationship to progress in such an understated way, Coppola makes it far more intimate, seeming like a true meeting of two lost souls, rather than a mere fling caused by two failing marriages.
Of course, the love story is tinged with melancholy from the very beginning: to get the ending the audience desires - Bob and Charlotte riding off into the sunset together - would require them both to betray and abandon their partners, neither of whom have done anything to deserve such treatment. Add in to the bargain the fact that Bob has a young daughter and it becomes clear that such an ending is impossible. Bob and Charlotte seem to grasp this, we sense from the beginning that they know they will have to return to real life soon, that the quasi-romance they are enjoying can be nothing more than a temporary escape.
Tokyo makes the perfect backdrop for such a story: its futuristic neon-clad buildings and towering skyscrapers give it an otherworldly feel, only enhanced by the mixture of familiarity and strangeness it offers to Western visitors. This environment only enhances the characters' sense of displacement; surrounded by a city similar to those of their homeland and yet made different by the many quirks of Japanese culture, such as the hotel employees constant desire to thank Bob or the incredibly melodramatic "masseuse" sent to him by his associates.
The effect is to create a setting that feels almost otherworldly, allowing Bob and Charlotte to escape briefly from the real world where there relationship would be impossible.
The location is also rather wonderful from a purely aesthetic point of view. Few places on earth offer the spectacle of Tokyo at night; a sleek and futuristic veneer covering a seedier underworld, all drenched in neon lighting and all utterly gorgeous. Coppola takes full advantage, showing both sides to the city in all their glory, though perhaps the most moving shots are those of the entire city as Bob or Charlotte looks out from their hotel room window, capturing both the beauty of the city and their sense of utter isolation.
Lost in Translation is a highly unconventional film: a love story in which a happy ending is impossible and in which the main characters never share so much as a kiss. Its unorthodox nature combined with the talents of Murray, Johansson and Coppola produce a film of rare beauty depicting a romance almost completely devoid of sexuality and which is all the more intriguing because of this.
A true modern classic and a must-see.
This Means War starts slowly with some background and character scenes showing the two leads Tuck (Tom Hardy) and Franklin (Chris Pine) as friends working together as agents for the CIA and the female lead Lauren working as a product tester, it's a bit pedestrian but the action ramps up as the second act kicks in and the two guys start to date her at the same time competitively against one another using all their romantic skills to seduce Lauren (Reese Witherspoon) whilst using their high tech surveillance skills to track each other's progress.
At some points the film feels as though it might possibly slip into mediocrity but it's the trio of talented and likeable actors that raises it above other similar films. Will Lauren choose Franklin the slick, womanising American or Tuck the lovelorn, more romantic Brit?
The direction is solid and slick apart from the opening scenes which lag a little more than you would expect but overall the film had enough action and laughs to provide enjoyment and a decent form of distraction for viewers without ever perhaps being a smash hit. It's consistently good without ever really being great perhaps missing out on extra kudos by just being slightly too predictable.
This Means War is a lot more credible than you might at first imagine or expect from this sort of film and despite the unlikely premise the film flows well and the dialogue and interactions feel reasonably organic and mostly realistic.
And opposed to the usual plot device of not allowing men who are competing for the affections of the same woman to know the truth of their situation until the final act, here the leads find out the truth from the start which has a positive effect on the film as a whole, as the final outcome feels much more believable and honest as a consequence.
I really cannot explain why I bought and watched The Woman in Black DVD. I have never been a huge fan of horror films as they tend to crawl into my head and play with my imagination for days and (especially) nights after (Yes I am aware that there are (probably) no such things as ghosts but I am also aware that the characters in films think the same thing and look what happens to them!) . This was described more as a ghost story than an all out horror film, however, and sometimes a little scary can be good. So I grabbed a copy of this DVD and a bag of popcorn and settled down (with the lights on naturally) to what I hoped would be a great film experience.
I did not find this film scary at all.
I don't know what went wrong. All the ingredients were there: spooky isolated house, fog, remote village, fog, scared villagers, fog, scary moving toys, unexplained deaths and fog. Somehow, though none of this managed to pull together into a frightening film. With my imagination, it doesn't take much to get me on the edge of my seat and jumping at shadows but this film really didn't scare me. I enjoyed the story and was interested to see how it would end but the thrill wasn't there.
One of the problems is that a lot of the film happens at night. A woman in black with a black veil over her face appears in the shadows of a big dark house at night. Now maybe on the big screen at the cinema it was different but on my TV it wasn't always easy to tell what was happening except by the expressions of the "alive" characters in the same scene and the background music.
I really enjoyed seeing Daniel Radcliffe in a different acting role and was pleased that the only time I thought about him as Harry Potter was when I wished he'd use a spell to put some lights on! The rest of the cast were equally good especially Ciarán Hinds as a man desperate not to believe the truth of the events around him and what happened to his son.
I did have a number of questions throughout the story that distracted me. Why did no-one in the village simply explain to Kipps why they were so against him going to the old house? Why did none of the villagers attempt to leave the village and take their children to safety somewhere else? Most importantly for me, how and why did the Woman in Black kill the children in the way that she did? There must have been an easier way to do it , surely?
For me, the ending of this film didn't really work. I understand that the end of the film is different to the original novel and I am interested to find out how the book ended. The ending of the film felt wrong somehow. It seemed to take something away from the film and left me wondering what the point of the last hour and a half was.
The DVD comes packed with extras including interviews and behind the scenes featurettes and commentaries These all provided an interesting look at the making of the film and even featured interviews with the original author Susan Hill.
This is a DVD to watch for the story, the acting and the bonus features. For me, it didn't provide the thrills I was expecting but neither did it keep me awake and terrified for nights afterwards which is always a good thing.
A group of misogynistic teenagers arrange a party for their best friend at his house while his parents are away on holiday. The boys are complete losers at school which is not hard to believe because they have very bad attitudes toward pretty much everyone. However despite being socially inept they invite any girls from their school that are in any way considered to be sexy to the party, in the hope that they will get to have sex and that the party will be a success. They have no concept of acceptable attitudes towards anyone.
Project X is crude beyond belief. It includes racism, sexism and homophobia, and it's crude, puerile and offensive in just about every other conceivable way. Consequently Project X is the sort of film that breeds young men who fail to understand real life and think that women are nothing other than objects created for their personal sexual gratification. The film may be fictional but the problems that it will create in society, that already exist but will only be amplified by this sort of film, are very real. Teenagers watching this film will not be able to distinguish between behaviour that is acceptable or unacceptable thus bad habits will be learned. The music used in the film further objectifies women and is racist and abusive. This sort of film should quite honestly not see the light of day on cinema screens and certainly not as home entertainment.
Unlike films such as American Pie or Superbad where the lead characters and storylines have a sense of humour this film perhaps in its intent to be real simply glamorises the behaviour of these young men.
As for the actors (if this bunch of irritating newcomers can be called actors - because I would seriously question their acting and personal credentials if they think that this sort of film is acceptable) none of them have the likability, or tongue in cheek style of Johan Hill, or the personality or vulnerability of Jessie Eisenberg or Michael Cera.
Despite having a strong hated for this horrible little mistake of a film, at the point the police helicopters arrived to quell the party, which by this point had become a full scale riot, I felt compelled to watch the film to its conclusion simply to witness the final outcome, which of course feel short of my expectations with regards the punishment that the boys received. Perhaps the worst moment of the film is when the father of the main character, having returned to his house that has been destroyed along with most of the nearby houses, comments to his son that he didn't think that he had it in him; wryly praising his son for his ability to have hosted such a out-of-control party. It's a comment that clearly further glamorises the boys' behaviour - a deeply misjudged piece of parenting.
Truly, they don't make them like they used.
They evoke, and they adapt - the war films of recent decades have been increasingly impressive, and period dramas readily make beautiful the days of centuries gone by - but rarely does a film come along that is really made like they used to.
Then along came The Artist.
The film tells the story of silent film star George Valentin, who falls for the rising young actress Peppy Miller. Set during the period when silent films are waning and talkies are on the rise, George refuses to become a part of the new medium, in which Peppy is so wonderfully succeeding.
Following the historic market crash of 1929, George is left penniless and defeated, with fewer and fewer options left to him to return to his past stardom, and win back the love of the girl he helped raise to fame.
As you'll no doubt already know, The Artist was last year's big success story in the film industry, sweeping the board at the Oscars, including taking Best Director, Best Actor, and the most coveted Best Picture. And it did so with good reason. Though it was up against tough competition, The Artist is one of the most original films to be made since the time in which it is set.
The silent nature of the film puts the emphasis even more on its performers, and George Valentin and Peppy Miller are fantastically acted by leading stars Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo. It also necessitates a strong score to accompany the film, which composer Ludovic Bource has provided in spades, winning Best Original Score for his efforts at the Oscars.
Released on Blu-ray, the film looks and sounds simply beautiful. The choreography of the dance numbers is magnificently crisp in High Definition, and the music throughout will pull the strings of your heart in all the right ways. It is a must-have for every lover of cinema, and will be remembered for years to come.
For years, Batman has been enclosed into a shell of kid's comic book heroism, and despite trying to brake out a few times (take Tim Burton's ventures for example) he has never really succeeded. It was in 2005 when Christopher Nolan [Director] brought Batman one hole of a step closer to braking out of said shell. I say 'one step closer' because, watching Batman Begins, the vibe throughout the film is style slightly comic book. So how do finally get Batman entirely out of the shell? Well, you make a Batman film, which is darker, grittier, faster and hasn't even got Batman in the title. For all we know, it's not even a Batman film; it's just a film about a rich assassin kicking who brings people to justice. But what I just said there is offensive; The Dark Knight is way more than that. It's the kind of film that if you showed it to Adam West and Cesar Romeo, they would be terrified!
Calling this film a sequel is an insult, as this film can stand on way more than two feet. Like the Joker states in the film, Nolan got our White Knight, and brought him down to our level (or maybe a bit lower). The film is a lot more believable than other Batman films, probably down to the simplicity of the plot. Although it may come across complex while watching the film, standing back and looking at it, the plot is basically a sadistic clown going on a mass homicide spree. Nolan has made simple changes to make the film more relatable. In the older Batman, the joker gained his unique face from falling into a barrel of acid. In this one, the joker is just wearing make up and has some scars. A simple but effective change, as we all know that if you dip your head into a barrel of sulphuric acid, you would not turn out looking like a clown.
The film has some amazing actors and acting in it (excluding the boy in the last scene who despite just having a gun to his head held by a guy who has half of his face burnt off, still seems to be completely un-phased by the whole thing, as he squeaks out 'dad, is he ok dad'). It features the likes of Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Canine and Christian Bale. But the most acting credit must go to Heath Ledger, who almost dwarfs out every other actor. It's a shame that this role was his brake through, but he died just a few months after the films release. What I find annoying though is when people who have never read the comics, completely stamp on Jack Nicholson [Batman, 1989] and Mark Hamill [The Animated Series]. They played their roles perfectly, just as the comic's the Joker. Ledger was not trying to recreate a better version of the comic book Joker, but to create his own fresh new joker style that no one had done before.
The cinematography in the film is excellent; Nolan really knew what he was going for when creating the dark gritty vide he wanted. In fact, according to the set designers, there is not a single circle in the whole film (so keep your eyes peeled when watching!). He used things like the colour scheme (which was mainly black, white, dark blue) and the tint on the camera (dark blue), as a pose to the brown tint of his previous film.. Everything adds up perfectly to create the atmosphere of the film.
The verdict? Well, this film is bold, brave and brilliant in many ways. Throughout the film you will be getting closer to the edge of your seat, and at the end of the film you will find your self-face down on the floor licking the carpet. I have watched The Dark Knight many times now and it still manages to amaze me. Nolan raised the bar high with Batman begins, and he just raised it even higher with The Dark Knight. How The Dark Knight Rises [2012] will out do The Dark Knight I don't know. But knowing Christopher Nolan, I' sure we can take his word for it.
Don't dismiss this film because of the subtitles - The Black Book is a gripping tale of one womans loss, her attempt at revenge, some heart stopping double dealing all in an utterly convincing story set during the second world war.
A young Jewish woman tries to escape Nazzi Germany with her family on a boat. They are ambushed and the young woman watches as her entire family is murdered. The Black Book tells the story of her survival and revenge in this sensitive telling of what could so easily be just another violent war film.
Tom Cruise proves he's still the man when it comes to action movies, reprising his role as IMF agent Ethan Hunt in 'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol', the forth instalment of the popular spy saga. Cruise leads his team (comprised of Paula Patton, Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner) in a race against time to stop a false flag terrorist attack designed to (ominous tone): ".incite global nuclear war", as IMF Secretary Tom Wilkinson puts it. And so we have what amounts to an elaborate excuse for all manner of cloak & dagger shenanigans, cool gadgets and hi-octane action sequences in a variety of exotic locations. Director Brad Bird ('The Incredibles') follows on from Abrams's 'M:I3' timeline (the first of the sequels to so) and takes us from Russia to Dubai to Mumbai in a relentlessly paced, aesthetically pleasing affair.
'M:I4' is an entertaining movie, though the series itself is becoming rather episodic and may require a narrative shot in the arm next time around. Cruise is excellent but I was somewhat disappointed by the fact that they spent quite some time setting up an intriguing sub-plot between dastardly vixen Léa Seydoux and Paula Patton, only to wrap it up in one short, anti-climatic scene. It doesn't work as a red herring and makes you wonder why they'd bothered going to all that trouble to begin with.
Brian De Palma's original 'Mission: Impossible' is still the best in terms of it's storyline and performances but 'M:I4' takes it's crown as far as set pieces are concerned: For only the Langley CIA break-in from the first film can match Cruise's epic and suspenseful climb on the Burj Khalifa here. Even John Woo's enjoyably OTT sequel, though unmatched as far as gunplay goes, is given a run for its money with the IMF's escape from Moscow whilst M:I3's hit n' miss attempts at characterisation (e.g. romantic interludes, agent killed in the field etc) are just as shoddy now as they were back then.
The spy thriller has undergone a lot of changes since Cruise first played this role; from the Jason Bourne films to the re-invention of Bond, but the 'Mission Impossible' series shows no signs of self-destructing (...in 5 seconds) and retains a sense of excitement and charm thanks, in no small part, to the appeal and longevity of the charismatic showman that is Tom Cruise. The franchise does need a new slate of characters should they decide to go on, but if there is another Mission; I'm quite certain that audiences around the world will choose to accept it.
"Alright look, I tried to be reasonable. You give me your word in ten seconds or I shoot you in the head." - Raylan Givens, 'The Moonshine War' (Season 2, Episode 1)
Timothy Olyphant returns as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in the improved second season of FX's 'Justified'. While season one took five or six episodes to find its feet this set of episodes is more focused and has a better plotted season arc. Margo Martindale, who received an Emmy for her role, plays Mags Bennett, head of the famed Bennett crime family who have a long standing feud with the Givens. The Bennett's prove to be a very interesting and difficult antagonist for Raylan and their scenes together and the most enjoyable yet. As well as this new threat, unresolved plotlines from the first season continue. Raylan still has to figure out his enigmatic friend Boyd Crowder (the brilliant Walton Goggins) and unresolved feelings for his ex-wife Winona (Natalie Zea). The writers do a good job of juggling these components while still maintaining Raylan status as the most badass lawman on television. Highlights for me include: 'The I of the Storm', 'Cottonmouth', 'Brother's Keeper' and 'Reckoning'.
In the past ten or fifteen years, American television has undergone a remarkable transformation. Way back at the tail-end of the 20th century, US shows often felt like the more conservative, conventional cousins of their UK counterparts: bound by network restrictions that prevented them from pushing programming boundaries in the same way that other, more liberal, countries were able. But ever since pay-for-subscription US networks like HBO and Showtime were given more leeway to make shows for mature adults (with far fewer restrictions on language, violence and sexual content) we've seen a wave of high-quality shows like Oz, The Sopranos and The Wire demonstrate just how well-written, intelligent and un-patronising American TV can be when it's at its best.
The latest addition to that impressive list is Boardwalk Empire. Set in Atlantic City at the start of the prohibition era (and backed by Martin Scorsese as executive producer - and, sometimes, director), you can probably guess that the series revolves around gangsters, guns and gambling. But behind the obvious flashy allure of these elements, there's a lot more going on. Like the Sopranos, the show's gangster trappings are hung off a more universal and relatable skeleton built around families, romance and politics. This helps to give viewers an intellectual and emotional connection to the show, to go alongside the visceral reaction that the show's more violent moments are sure to provoke.
Boardwalk Empire is certainly not a show for the faint-hearted: although used sparingly, there are some moments of extreme violence and sexual content that might turn off audiences looking for a more reserved and historical approach to the series' subject matter. But despite the sometimes convoluted webs of gangster relationships and human drama that make up so many of the show's storylines, the series manages to stay surprisingly faithful to real-life history. The central character, 'Nucky' Thompson - played superbly in an effortlessly understated manner by Steve Buscemi - is a fictionalised version of local politician and racketeer Enoch Johnson, whilst other real-world historical figures such as Albert "Chalky" Wright and the famous Al Capone are also incorporated into the fabric of the TV show. It's fascinating to watch their various story threads play out in a fictional context, but it's even more interesting when you appreciate the real-life historical links that these characters have to the era.
As well as boasting a very strong central cast (alongside Buscemi, there's Michael Pitt as a young WWI veteran with whom Nucky shares a fatherly bond, and Kelly MacDonald as an Irish immigrant mother who develops a complicated personal relationship with Nucky), the show benefits from a fantastic raft of supporting players. Anthony Laciura provides a hilariously minimalist performance as Nucky's awkward manservant, whilst Michael Shannon steals every scene he's in as Nelson van Alden, an intense religious zealot who also happens to be a Federal Prohibition agent. Stephen Graham provides a compelling mix of bonhomie and psychotic menace as Al Capone, whilst Michael Kenneth Williams - probably best known as Omar Little from 'The Wire' - brings a certain dignity and strength to Chalky White.
Complementing the interesting storytelling and great acting are some of the best production values I've ever seen in a TV show. When I first heard about the rumoured $18 million budget of the show's first episode - just one episode! - I thought it sounded a little steep. But when you combine a full-scale re-creation of Atlantic City's waterfront (probably the showiest aspect of the series) with the lavish interiors of the clubs and casinos that Nucky frequents, as well as all the fine period detail that's apparent in every element of the show - from the costumes to the cars to the cabaret acts - it's easy to see where the money went. And on Blu-Ray, this detail looks even more impressive, with the high-definition format allowing you to pick out every street sign, advertising hoarding or liquor-label for closer examination, should you so desire.
By the end of this first season of Boardwalk Empire, it's likely that you'll be hooked on the intelligent mixture of politics, human drama and organised crime that the show provides - and luckily, with a second series complete and a third on the way, you won't have to wait long for more. With the season finale leaving certain characters in some very interesting places, and setting up a very different framework for the second year of the show, I can't wait to see how the series progresses.
If I had to describe Curb Your Enthusiasm in a single word, I'd call it the anti-sitcom. That's not to say it's not funny - it is, very - but it manages to be funny in a completely different way to 99% of the scripted half-hour TV shows that the US seems to churns out on an endless basis these days.
Series creator Larry David - also the brains behind the most successful American sitcom of all time, 'Seinfeld' - chose to base Curb around a fictionalised version of himself, with a title that not only serves as a warning to viewers not to expect another laugh-a-minute comedy in the more conventional Seinfeld mould, but which also reflects the cynical, sometimes dour outlook of the 'Larry David' persona he adopts in this show. And because Curb is produced by US subscription-based cable network HBO, that cynical and dark humour can be pushed a lot further than most shows would dare.
Like Seinfeld, most episodes of Curb revolve around something fairly mundane and commonplace: perhaps an item of clothing that Larry particularly likes or dislikes, a social convention that Larry disagrees with, or a certain turn of phrase that he finds ridiculous, amusing or controversial. Rather than using these simple elements as jumping-off points from which to build an absurd, convoluted and wide-ranging plot, however, the show instead brings them to the fore and dissects them in minute detail. So, you'll get several minutes of amusing discussion about the etiquette of tipping waiters in restaurants, or whether a certain word or phrase is racially insensitive, or whether a favourite jacket is really identical to another similar jacket.
Typing this out, I realise that it makes the show sound incredibly petty and obsessed with detail. But in all honesty, "incredibly petty and obsessed with detail" is a perfect way to describe the fictional Larry David that inhabits the 'Curb' universe. Luckily, he's kept in check by a host of weary colleagues and friends - some of whom are fictional creations (like his boorish manager Jeff), and some of whom are real-life actors and comedians playing fictionalised versions of themselves, usually to great comedic effect (Ted Danson and Richard Lewis are particularly good examples of actors who aren't afraid to make fun of themselves for the sake of the show).
As well as focusing on such small and realistic details of daily life, Curb occasionally throws in a plotline that's so outlandish and complicated that you can't help but admire the show's commitment to constructing such a complex farce. For example, in one episode, Larry has to confront the delicate situation of how to retrieve a golf club he lent to a (now deceased) friend whose family has decided that the man should be buried with it. Suffice it to say, the funeral doesn't go smoothly, and Larry draws the ire of everyone present (as he so often does).
Rather than opting for a 'mockumentary' style - as used in shows like The Office - the show is instead a more relaxed, naturalistic affair, with much of the specific dialogue of each scene improvised around general plot points that need to be conveyed. This gives it a loose feel that's unlike so many scripted sitcoms - where you can see the jokes coming a mile off - instead letting each scene build naturally (often with no small amount of barely-concealed genuine amusement from the actors at each other's improvisations).
Eight series is a long time to sustain a show, even one that's as original and distinctive as this, but Curb is one of those rare shows that actually seems to improve with age. Perhaps it's the actors' ever-increasing familiarity with their characters, or perhaps it's the realisation that the show needs to rely less and less on traditional setups and payoffs, instead opting to play with the audience's expectations of the characters and their increasing comfortableness with the labyrinthine structure of the show's individual episodes (which, like Seinfeld, often juggle several separate story strands before bringing them together in an unexpected but satisfying denouement).
Indeed, it's two of the later seasons of Curb that stand out as my favourites. Season six introduces a family whose home was damaged in Hurricane Katrina, the Blacks, who seek shelter in Larry's Los Angeles home. Whilst it's a slightly forced development, it freshens up the cast with a very different group of characters - including Leon Black, who quickly becomes one of the show's funniest characters.
This sixth season is followed up with the seventh year of the show - my personal favourite - in which Larry orchestrates a Seinfeld reunion show for the express purpose of engineering a reconciliation with his long-suffering wife Cheryl. It's a mind-bending collision of the fictional world of 'Curb', the even-more-fictional world of 'Seinfeld', and the reality of seeing a true reunion of Seinfeld's entire cast (all of whom, like Larry, are playing fictionalised and heightened versions of themselves within the world of 'Curb'). To say any more would risk spoiling it, but suffice it to say that it's the most ambitious but satisfying example of postmodern storytelling that I've ever seen in a TV show.
The seventh season is perhaps such a strong climax to the show so far that Curb opts to change things up a little in its eighth (and so far, final) season, moving to a different locale (New York, instead of LA) and giving Larry a new status quo that sets the season apart from previous years. It's a slightly more mixed offering, but still offers up some classic Curb moments (including a standout guest appearance from Michael J Fox, who manages to steal every scene he's in). On the strength of this season, there's still plenty more life in Curb yet.
In case it wasn't apparent from the preceding paragraphs, I'm somewhat evangelical about Curb, and believe that anyone who hasn't experienced it would be blown away by its originality and unique humour. For fans of the show, this boxset is a definitive collection of the series that you'll find yourself constantly watching and rewatching. And if you've never seen Curb before, this is the perfect way to immerse yourself in the world of Larry David.
I found this DVD one of the best comedy's i have watched, with humour all the way through, just as good as any other series if not better! Must have.
Lets begin with saying that if you liked the first Johnny English you will love this Johnny English even though the plot is completely different it is still without a doubt the SAME johnny. This stupid ideas that gets him no where lead him into more trouble and him ending up dying but thats not the end as its Johnny. It is a perfect film for anyone who likes a laugh and i would really recommend buying it as to this date it is the funniest film i have even seen. A massive well done to all the actors, directors and everyone else who was involved in the making of the film because they did a great job.
Every single season of Greys is absolutly brilliant. The drama that the cast go through is unbelieveable but so entertaining. There is never a dull moment, if the drama isnt enough for you everyones complicated and entangled love lives will keep you hooked.
if you have never seen this i would reccommend all seasons.
Season 7 will keep you going right to the end, you'll be dying to see season 8.
Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki is perhaps the most revered figure in animated cinema today.
Since founding the now legendary animation studio "Studio Ghibli" in 1985, he has written and directed several of the greatest animated films ever made, repeatedly smashing box office records in Japan, inventing in Totoro a character whose status in the East rivals that of Mickey Mouse's in the West and directing the only foreign film ever to have won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
It could easily be argued that Miyazaki has made better films than 2008's Ponyo - Spirited Away won more awards and Princess Mononoke garnered more critical acclaim - but I don't believe any have offered quite the same level of pure entertainment.
As with most Ghibli films, the plot is somewhat baffling: a little boy catches a goldfish that turns out to be the daughter of a sea-wizard who then transforms into a young girl after drinking a drop of his blood. I'm never quite sure whether Western audiences suffer from a culture barrier or if these films are equally baffling to the Japanese.
Regardless, plot is never of great importance to Miyazaki films; the Ghibli magic stems not from the films' stories but from their traditional hand-drawn animation and the endearing, albeit rather eccentric, characters that populate them.
Hand-drawn animation has rather gone out of fashion recently - Only a few years ago, Disney were on the brink of closing their remaining hand-drawn studios to focus solely on CGI-based films - and the sadness of this situation is nowhere displayed more clearly than when watching a Miyazaki film.
Ponyo sees the Japanese auteur at the height of his powers; dazzling from the very first scene with images of a beautiful underwater world, thriving with thousands of weird and wonderful creatures each of which seems to have been drawn as meticulously as any of the main characters. This attention to detail has always been a huge part of what makes Miyazaki's films such a joy to watch: even objects relegated to the very edge of the frame are as intricately crafted as those at the very centre.
This has never been, and possibly can never be, captured quite as well in CGI.
Neither has the way in which characters move: the sense of weight that accompanies even the slightest movement of a Miyazaki character is a wonder to behold, making it a joy to watch them carry out the most mundane tasks, like lighting a fire or preparing a meal.
Despite being perhaps the only animation studio with the skill to make such simple acts entertaining, Ghibli films also deliver on large-scale visual spectacle like no-one else. Ponyo's most stunning sequence sees the sea come alive, with each wave briefly transformed into a gaping jaw, as Ponyo skips nimbly across them.
The unique art style of Ghibli films perfectly complements the child-like logic upon which they operate, making such feats of fantasy seem almost possible and allowing for adult viewers to suspend their disbelief at such bizarre spectacles as a little girl running across the surface of the ocean.
The protagonists of almost all Miyazaki's films are children; as such they all face the challenge of finding young voice actors whose high-pitched tones don't leave grown up viewers feeling suicidal by the end of the first act.
On paper, things do not bode well for Ponyo: the realisation that they are about to watch a film starring Miley Cyrus's little sister and the youngest of the Jonas brothers must have had many accompanying parents reaching for a pair of ear plugs or a very stiff drink.
In one of the great miracles of modern cinema, both Noah Cyrus and Frankie Jonas deliver excellent performances and the dynamic between their two characters is both exceptionally naturalistic and incredibly sweet. Cyrus in particular helps to create one of the most entertaining cartoon characters in recent years: the rambunctious and slightly bizarre goldfish-girl Ponyo is infinitely more entertaining than a child who spends much of the film shouting "HAM!" has any right to be.
Studio Ghibli enjoys such status in the West that they never struggle to find A-list talent for their English dubbing and Ponyo is no exception, rounding off the rest of its cast with the likes of Liam Neeson, Betty White and Matt Damon.
Not many studios can hire Matt Damon to voice a minor character with less than 5 minutes of screen time and only a handful of lines.
Visually stunning and utterly enthralling, Ponyo is that rare type of films that should appeal equal to all ages. The likes of Disney and Dreamworks often try to accomplish this feat with sly double-entendres and pop-culture references designed to fly over the heads of the younger viewers and keep the grown-ups amused. Ponyo is able to rely simply on its charm and beauty to make it universally appealing; a truly outstanding accomplishment, speaking volumes for both the talent of Hayao Miyazaki and the thoroughly vindicating his continued refusal to move away from hand-drawn animation.
To watch Kenneth Branaugh play Wallander was and is brilliant. Is a great story to watch and enjoy and will periodically watch it over again. Wish all would shine like Kenneth
great comedy about the blackadders throughout the ages only downside is not more extra features but anyone who has watched this series will have been hooked
grea tcomedy
great comedy about a lazy layabout trying to get a girl who only goes for the employee of the month hes up against a 17 month running employee of the month hilarious invluding jessica simpson
good comedy
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