I saw this at the cinema and was really impressed by the tender way the main characters deal with Lars' predicament and way of coming to terms with past losses. It is a gently amusing film without the coarseness you might expect from a film starring a blow-up doll, it's not overdone or a farce in any way. A real Winter evening with a cocoa film!
Delightfully Gentle Tender Movie
I wasn't expecting that much from this Van Damme film, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover an unusual offering from the Muscles from Brussels. The story is a little fragmented, but the overall pace keeps you interested. Jean Claude plays a likeable washed-up actor who is confined to B-Movie status being held hostage by a group of bank robbers.
Unconventional bank robbery film in which Jean Claude plays a version of himself. With the authorities convinced Jean Claude is holding up the bank, the actual robbers devise a plan to make Van Damme the fall guy.
Lovely film, but some shocking moments that will make you cry. Anthony Hopkins plays a very moving character and Cuba Gooding Jr is fantastic as the psychiatrist. Compelling storyline, and great script.
Anthony Hopkins stars as a wild man who has killed some people and Cuba Gooding Jr is his psychiatrist. As the story unfolds, Hopkins starts to open to Cuba, and tells him the story of how he came to live with a group of gorillas.
This eventful action packed DVD featuring Will Smith who fights for his survival against an army of mechanical robots. As usual, he saves the day from what would have been a horrific nightmare. I-Robot is an interesting movie with outstanding graphics and an exhilarating plot.
Director Walter Herzog's snappily titled 'Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans' has almost nothing in common with it early 90s namesake. For example, in Abel Fererra's 'Bad Lieutenant'; corrupt cop Harvey Kietel investigates the brutal gang rape of a nun. In Herzog's movie; corrupt cop Nicolas Cage hilariously berates drug induced hallucinations of iguanas and calls an infirm old lady a c***. Yes, 'BL: PCNO' is 'CSI' by way of 'Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas'; an inspired blend of the serious and surreal which marks a comeback of sorts for one Nicolas Cage. 'BL: PCNO' reminds us fans why we still love movies like 'Honeymoon In Vegas', 'Red Rock West', 'Wild At Heart', 'Con Air', 'Face/Off', 'Bringing Out The Dead' and 'Leaving Las Vegas'. Its as if Nic Cage was frantically being blasted by the creative defibrillator of goodwill, and has only just come around: We saw a blip of life when he dressed up as a bear and fought Leelee Sobieski in 'The Wicker Man', were offered a glimmer of hope with 'Lord of War' and 'Ghost Rider' but thought we'd lost him on the flat line that was 'National Treasure', 'National Treasure 2', 'World Trade Centre', 'Bangkok Dangerous' and 'Knowing'. But its good news, because Nicolas Cage is back and he's madder than ever.
'BL: PCNO' sees Cage as bent copper Lt. Terence McDonagh; an out of control, smack addled lunatic who tires to hold it all together in order to solve the murder of a Senegalese family in post Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans. It's an original and inventive setting for a police procedural and the opening scene (set during the flood itself) is brilliantly conceived and executed. I'm actually surprised it took Herzog (best known for his collaborations with eccentric, legendary German actor Klaus Kinski) and Cage this long to work together; as their off the wall, intensely creative and oddball outlook on life seems perfectly matched.
Here, Cage is ably supported by a sterling cast which includes 'Ghost Rider' co-star Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Fairuza Balk, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Jennifer Coolidge, Tom Bower of 'The Waltons' fame and Brad Dourif. Even baby faced, rapper-turned-actor Xzibit puts in a credible performance as New Orleans kingpin Big Fate. The only issue being that Xzibit's too much of a cheeky chappie to ever really convince us that he's a ruthless, homicidal drug-lord. That said, we never really notice since the scenes he has with Cage are often clouded in a puff of cocaine dust and tend to veer off into a stream-of-consciousnesses that suits the movie down to a tee.
'BL: PCNO' is a film unlike any you'll see this year: Fast, funny and completely insane. A must for Nicolas Cage fans.
There's something not quite right about this movie. Perhaps it's the laissez-faire, unstructured approach to violence; neither aesthetically engaging in a dramatic fashion nor portrayed with the correct intensity / mood ratio à la John Woo. Perhaps its director Mathew Vaughn's relative inexperience behind the camera ('Layer Cake' and 'Stardust' not being the greatest of films) or maybe it's because 'Kick Ass' looks as if it were made by Alex and his Droogs from 'A Clockwork Orange'.
A good opening sight gag effectively satirizes the self-aggrandising hyperbole of the superhero genre, as we're introduced to Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson). An ordinary, troubled teen who takes his love of comics to the nth degree; modifying a scuba-suit to create the alter-ego of Kick Ass. But after a promising start, the narrative soon spirals out of control with a milieu of tedious subplots and derivative, over directed set pieces.
Nicolas Cage's performance as a Batman-esque (brilliant Adam West impersonation and all) hero called Big Daddy, is the best thing about 'Kick Ass' by a mile and should've been the film's focus. Cage cements his return to weird as an ex-cop turned vigilante; who guides his impressionable, 11-year-old daughter on a bloody path to avenge her mother's murder at the hands of a local mob boss. His daughter is, of course, the already controversial character; Hit Girl (Chloë Moretz). Not having read the comics upon which 'Kick Ass' is based, I can't say whether this character worked on the page, but on screen; it's a repetitive, unfunny gag stretched throughout the entire movie. Hit Girl's big action scene rip offs 'The Matrix' lobby shootout wholesale whilst 'South Park', itself now horribly dated and stale, pre-empted most of Kick Ass's allegedly shocking 'humour' over a decade ago. Now the concept of child-assassin isn't a new one and even Luc Besson's 'Leon' (1994) was criticized for its depiction of a 14-year-old Natalie Portman learning how to use a sniper rifle and so on. But whereas 'Leon' handled the subject in a relatively sober / restrained manner (Besson wised up at the last minute to remove the more unsavoury elements of his original screenplay) 'Kick Ass', for all its cartoon violence and post-modern witticisms, reeks of exploitation.
Screenwriter Jane Goldman should've written Hit Girl as an almost unseen, figment of Big Daddy's imagination (and let Nic Cage go mental with all that entails) perhaps even employ Fincher's 'Zodiac' method of having different people play the same character and foreshadow her appearances in much the same way as Tony Scott did with Val Kilmer's Elvis character in 'True Romance'. Having read the production notes, I'm convinced the filmmakers have cheapened and excised most of Kick Ass's off beat appeal, including an ingenious / mad twist concerning Big Daddy's state of mind which, if followed, would've made for a more interesting movie.
Aaron Johnson puts in a decent performance as our titular hero and Nicolas Cage ensures that its not a total waste of time but the garish visuals and contrived fakery keeps the audience at arms length. And you don't feel for the characters because its as if they're simply not there; vapid, frenzied ciphers at best, cardboard cut out blurs at worst. 'Kick Ass' is an uneven, unoriginal and increasingly nonsensical hodge podge of half-baked ideas and forced humour. Avoid.
The film was FANTASTIC!!! I won;t say too much to give the story away but it is one of the best films I have seen.
Leonardo Di Caprio goes to Island to investigate missing girl and gets hauled into all sorts of problems with staff and inmates alike. Will he escape....
Antonio Campos, who made the controversial short film Buy it Now about a girl selling her virginity on eBay, demonstrates his remarkable talents to a larger audience with this impressive feature debut. Set in a respectable American boarding school, the movie looks at the affect the YouTube generation of kids can have on society, and how living a life in a world of video clips can distort reality. This isn't an "oh, those kids are up to no good" kind of film, and doesn't pander to the more tabloid side of the issue of recording fights and "happy slapping". But muster up an eerie and rather menacing sense of danger about the subject of internet videos and explores a terrible event in the eyes of a internet-addicted student.
This student is Robert. He loves video clips, and spends a lot of time in his dorm watching all sorts of weird pixelated short films online. The opening of the film gives us a sequence of videos that have appeared on sharing sites in recent years - some violently cruel, some sexual, some disturbing (Saddam's hanging is featured). We are then treated to a sleazy and upsetting amateur porn video, where a girl is made to say hello to her mum on camera before having intercourse with an off-screen male (who's presumably filming the act himself). We then cut to a darkened bedroom, where Robert is masturbating to the seedy video. His obsessive attitude towards this form of entertainment - whether it comes from the need for sexual gratification or a curious fascination - is summed up in this short but memorable scene. His roommates don't seem to share his fascination, and treat him with contempt. He isn't a complete loner though, and finds company in his attractive roommate Dave and his sort-of-girlfriend (she loses her virginity to Robert in the grounds of the school one sunny afternoon).
Robert uses the after school's video club, which lets students use video cameras to make short films, to indulge his love for bitesize footage. During the making of one of these filming endeavours (a static shot of an empty corridor), something horrific happens. Two girls appear in the corridor. They appear to be in pain and collapse to the ground making desperate sounds. They die of impure cocaine abuse, and their horribly distressing final moments are captured in Robert's film. After this event, Robert's life becomes very strange. He discovers his roommate may have a connection to the drugs the girls had taken moments before they died. He also gets the impression he isn't the only one who may have been filming that day, and somebody somewhere may also be compiling clips of the students in the school for their own agenda.
With noticeable parallels to Michael Haneke's work, and more than a few echoes of Gus Van Sant, this cold and disturbing film cooks up a vat of uneasy tension that is electric to watch. Campos, who with this has made one of the most exceptional first features of recent years, should be commended for keeping the drama understated and almost minimalistic without it seeming pretentious or turgid. Deftly handled, quietly topical and seriously disquieting, this is a near masterpiece. We can expect great things from Antonio Campos in the future.
This sentimental weepie, based on the bestseller by Nicholas "cry-your-eyes-out" Sparks, is far from the saccharine failure it could have been. Essentially a simple love story, Lasse Hallström's gentle direction saves this from wondering into self-indulgent melodrama.
Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, two of Hollywood's most endearing leads play the love birds. While on leave from the army, the heart-stopping good-looking John (Tatum) befriends the beautiful blonde Savannah, and together they embark of two weeks of sweet talks in the rain, adoring glances and general romantic fare. But instead of feeling sickened by their gushy-wushy love, we're actually rooting for both of them - such nice, charming and likable leads should get the life they deserve. Of course, their future together is uncertain at best as John's army tour doesn't exactly take him to the nicest of places. Bullets, landmines and tour-extensions threaten to come between the two, and to minimise the pain of being separated by hundreds of miles they start to write to each other (that's where the title comes from).
The casting of Tatum and Seyfried is perfect, even if the latter does occasionally over-act her role into submission. Delightful in Mamma Mia!, Amanda Seyfried isn't the best young actress working today, but it's very hard not to like her. She's come a long way from the bitch in Mean Girls, and will hopefully continue to fine-tune her acting as her CV becomes more substantial. Channing Tatum is faultless; beautifully playing a role that could very easily have been portrayed as just a tame thug. His understated delivery and understanding of dramatic emotion, coupled with his handsome features, make him a gift of a leading man. There is also a rather touching performance from Six Feet Under's Richard Jenkins as John's father, who may or may not have a minor form of autism.
It does all start to get a bit mawkish, and the story does take some rather predicable turns, but all in all this is a good, solidly made romance. Leaving aside an underdeveloped ending, Dear John serves as a sentimental cinematic cry-fest with quality on its side.
Let's not skirt around the issue. The Invention of Lying, Ricky Gervais's directorial debut feature (co-directed with Matthew Robinson) was rubbish. At best, it was boring. At worst, it was painfully unfunny. It had the feel of a sleazy studio sitcom, only with A-list actors degrading themselves for the sake of Gervais. It was a mistake.
Cemetery Junction, which sees Gervais reuniting behind the camera with Extras' co-star Stephen Merchant, is not a mistake. It doesn't work entirely, and there are moments of ill-judged humour typical of the overrated comedian, but it has a lot of heart and showcases some superb performances from a group of talented young Brits.
Set in 1973, and drawing on autobiographical material from the directors' youth, Cemetery Junction is a small town in Reading. Two choices await the young males of this cosy little place. Work, get a house and marry the first woman who comes along. The other option is not so easy: get out of the town and make it up as you go along. Freddie, Bruce and Snork all face this big decision. Freddie is an insurance salesman, who likes the idea of settling down. Bruce is a laddish, semi-thug who has no respect for his alcoholic father. Snork is the joke - overweight, funny looking and socially awkward. But the other two always have his back in a pub fight.
When Freddie meets his bosses daughter Julie, who turns out to be a girl he knew when he was very young, he realises the second option, to escape the suffocating town, is still open to him. She wants to become a professional photographer; a vocation her stern father (a magnificent Ralph Fiennes) isn't keen on her pursuing. Bruce also plans to leave the town, but his talk of taking off and abandoning his dad and factory job is only a distant dream. He spends most of his time in trouble with the police for defacing private property and sleeping with random girls.
It's all beautifully shot, and the opening minute gorgeously depicts an English country town to the sound of Vaughn Williams. Remi Adefarasin's cinematography is wonderful, and brings a full palette of colour to a Britain that is so often depicted as grey, gritty and depressing.
But there are problems, and as I said earlier, these come from Gervais's inability not to write himself into nearly every character. For the most part, the characters stand up as genuine and believable creations. But suddenly they come out with a line or a joke which upsets the character balance. Some of the laddish banter between the boys is funny, but occasionally the crude humour starts to eclipse any real character depth or human warmth. It is as if Gervais and Merchant want to make both a Judd Apatow-style comedy and a heartfelt coming-of-age tale. But instead of making them separately, they've done a shaky attempt at both.
There is also some rather awkward racist and homophobic humour. Now, I must make it clear that the film itself is not racist, and the anti-gay jokes, although treading a fine line, seem so outdated it is clear no spite is intended. Even though appropriate to the period, they seem inappropriate to the "feel-good" aspect of the film. The odd joke would be fine, to show up a character's bigotry, but there are a few too many and leave a very odd taste in the mouth.
It is far from the low standard of his previous disaster, and features some standout performances from the older cast members (particularly Emily Watson as Julie's mother). Unfortunately there is too much smut where there should be soul. A well-meant venture, but nothing very profound.
It is unusual for a movie released under producer Joel Silver's Dark Castle brand to receive a rather underwhelming advertising campaign. All the more surprising is that Guillermo del Toro's (Pan's Labyrinth) input as producer has also been relatively underplayed, considering that when Optimum distributed Spanish chiller The Orphanage, his name was so large on the posters many thought he had actually directed it.
But its limited marketing may work out for the better, as the less you know about what the film contains, the heavier its emotional punch. Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley star as research scientists Clive and Elsa (their names a potential nod to the lead actors in Bride of Frankenstein). Their area of expertise is gene-splicing; creating man-made living entities that could present cures for illnesses such as cancer and MS. The dangers of such endeavours become clear when the two take their work into a more personal capacity by secretly using human DNA in a covert experiment. Elsa believes they are on the brink of a major breakthrough in medical research, and with their funds soon to be diverted, she convinces Clive, both her colleague and romantic partner, to help her create and nurture a creature made from 'splicing'.
The result is a peculiar rendering of human and animal DNA; a creature that ages at an accelerated rate and seems to comprehend emotions and issues beyond its extremely limited experience. In order to protect their creation (which they name Dren - Nerd spelt backwards), they move it - or rather her - to a disused farm. This is when the film is at its most interesting stage, as it shows Dren learning about the complexities of adolescence while exploring her more animalistic instincts.
Aside from the film's final act, which abandons its thoughtful mood and descends into horror-fest hysteria, Splice is a fascinating fable about the severe consequences that come from taking nature into one's own hands. It's also a bizarre and freshly realised metaphor about the mothering-or-smothering debate that concerns many parents worldwide. It may not be the most cheery of films, with a handful of scenes that some may find shocking, but this is one of the most imaginative and challenging offerings 2010 has seen so far.
This film stole my heart, I have bought a copy for all my friends, it's devastatingly funny, gruesome, and unbelievable at the same time, I would recommend anyone to see it who needs a good laugh and a few shocks too, I would not kick Jason Statham out of my bed for eating crisps either!
This is the worst shrek film by far and I can now confirm this as I have just watched the final movie at the cinema's. What could of been utter brilliance with the shrek babies was made in too an unfunny boring situation. It lacks what the second and the first had. 1. being the story. Number 1 and 2 actually had a plot to the story, shrek the turd, sorry third had a very basic plot (he has babies now...meh) and some other subplots. 2.the characters. The king arthur character was truly terrible, unlike number 2's fairy godmother who was so funny and the songs she sang we're just super.
Anyway I've done my review but ill finish off by saying if you don't want to ruin you're view of shrek don't watch this one... if you have them im so sorry that I was to late.
Shrek The Turd (The Phrase Maybe Slightly Overused)
This was a scary film and it was the small and subtle moments that made you twist in your seat. Typical of a Stephen King adaptation, you never really knew when the main character was experiencing real-life or dream-like sensations but you were certainly sharing his ups and downs - mainly downs, I'm afraid! A moral of the story is not to be too big for your boots - the main character had an unfortunate level of arrogance that had come from his previous research of exploring haunted sites. He was literally brought back down to earth!
I first watched this series on Bravo, and its one of the best series out now on dvd. Its witty, funny, the characters are first rate and the rapport is excellent. There are edge of your seat moments too. Whoever wrote this series is a mastermind and is getting it soo right. Matt Boner who plays criminal Neal Caffery is great, as is the guy (whos name slips my mind) who plays the FBI agent. The other characters involved wrap the whole package up together and I cannot wait for series 2 (there has got to be a series 2, 3 and 4)
You will enjoy every episode I promise, just give it a try. If you like crime dramas then its for you, but its more light-hearted and less intense.
Go on, what you still doing here reading this, you should be out there buying it!
FBI, master criminal/forger working together to crack cases
An amazing teen show one of my personal favourites the way chad micheal murray and james lafferty portray their characters is very memorable very exiting show with all sorts of people very good watch cant wait to find out what happens in the next season
One of the best shows ever it has everything probally best suited for teenage girls there is a bit of violence but there are great story lines and really hot guys there is a cliffhanger at the end of each episode which made it more thrilling overall an amazing show with a great cast a recomended buy
Filmed and set in the early eighties on location in Manhattan, long suffering Charlie (Mickey Rourke) and third cousin Paulie (Eric Roberts) are fired from their respective jobs due to Paulie's incompetence.
There are no car chases or explosions.
What remains is a pleasing and evocative story about these two central characters and their attempt to get their hands on some cash.
These actors are in their youth and all give reassuringly to their job for this piece, touches of comedy are present but fail to interrupt the flow of the plotline. The story does not revolve about the robbery but about living in Manhattan in general.
Paulie is not in contention to win any literacy prizes and Charlie often falls foul of Paulies antics.They enjoy expensive suits and fine Italian cuisine and are not averse to helping themselves to their employers profits.Charlie is a Resturant Manager and Paulie is a Waiter.
They're small time and through this portrayal that they ar not career criminals the viewer can empathise with them from the start.
Through Paulie's well intentioned deception they rob a warehouse which belongs to a rather unsavoury and vicious underworld individual,masterfully played throughout by all involved the film is enjoyable and entertaining.Towards the end Paulies nervousness is evident and a reckoning is on the cards.
I bought this the other day and watched for the first time in 20 years, it was a real pleasure to enjoy it all over again.
10/10.
Early Eighties, Manhattan, Hustlers, Robbery.
I saw this film in the cinema several months ago and found it a very engaging story. I will avoid an detailed description, as the synopsis describes this very aptly and extra details could spoil the plot. Shutter Island is a psychological drama that draws you in to trying to resolve the mystery of Rachel Solano's disappearance. At no point in the movie is the resolution obvious, and I was still asking questions as I left the cinema. It is similar, but by no means the same as, a brilliant film starring Russell Crowe, which I will not identfiy, as this again may give too much away.
Leonardo Di Caprio and Chuck Aule create very good characters as the investigating detectives and Ben Kingsley is outstanding as the evasive head of the Shutter Island institution.
The film reveals a disturbing twist at the end that is both profoundly shocking and sad, and leaves a lasting impression. A very good film from Martin Scorsese that is definately worth viewing.
The League of Gentlemen os one of the finest sketch shows to come out of Britain. It is as zany as The Fast Show but has much darker elements to it. Subjects such as death and murder are openly shown but there is a subtle humour to it that you only catch on a second viewing. If you like dark humour then I definatly reccomend this. If you don't, give it a go anyway as I can almost guarentee you will laugh until you cry.
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