More Movie Reviews and News
16 July 2009
THE LAST EXORCISM REVIEW
For far too long, The Exorcist has remained the top of the pile among demonic possession and exorcism movies. Although the Evil Dead movies successfully ramped up the possession themes during the 1980s, nothing has touched the grandaddy of these movies with its deeply religious overtones, shocking possession scenes, and groundbreaking (for its time) horror. It was with some hope that I went to see The Last Exorcism, the latest offering from Eli Roth, that this may be The Exorcist for the modern era.
What strikes you immediately is the quality of the acting. The cast of relatively unknown actors is incredibly strong, and nobody - not even the minor bit parts - puts in a poor performance. The stand out performances are the two main characters played by Patrick Fabian, who plays the exorcist who has a dwindling belief in his own religious livelihood, and Ashley Bell, the sweet young teenage girl who seems to be deeply troubled by guilt, shame, and demonic forces. Her performance is amazingly subtle and honest, worthy of some note.
This is another of those Blair Witch type movies, shot with a hand held camera which is in the narrative fabric of the story, and played for all its worth like a genuine documentary. If you don't like this type of film then The Last Exorcism won't convert you - you'll probably hate it. But if you appreciate this type of movie, which effectively removes a layer of safety by preventing you from being a passive observer to the narrative and forces you to feel more immediately involved, then you will find plenty of good stuff in here. The film is shot incredibly well, acted superbly, and even has the guts to raise some prickly questions about religious faith and the nature of shame. The demonic possession scenes feel a bit restrained, as though the film makers did not dare tread into the murky waters that The Exorcist bathed in so forcefully, and instead plays safe to avoid causing too much offence. This is a big shame as the movie sets up its stall so carefully and superbly, yet the actual goods for sale feel a bit lacking and unadventurous.
This would have been a five star movie but for one major thing that ruins it. The ending. Sadly, The Last Exorcism completely falls apart at the end, so much so that it manages to undo all the good work done at the start of the movie and makes a total mockery of itself. The end is so poor that it actually makes the whole film feel like it was terrible. It's an unbelievable shame, and a total betrayal to the superb cast of actors. My advice would be to leave the cinema 10 minutes before the film ends, and leave it on a cliffhanger rather than suffer the most ridiculous conclusion ever filmed. This movie came so close to being a great horror movie and a contender to The Exorcist, but ultimately it fails in a most spectacular manner.
3 out of 5
THE JONESES REVIEW
The Joneses are a rather strange family of well-off suburbanites who seem to enjoy all the material perks of wealth, spreading the desires of cold consumerism among their neighbours and forever showing off their latest designer goods. What emerges is that this family is a fake, put together and implanted into a wealthy community to act as covert salespeople. They are there to sell a lifestyle, to pretend to be the ultimate happy family, and to display the dubious quality that their happiness comes from their material wealth.
What surprised me most about The Joneses is just how deep and heavy it dares to go in its exploration of material desire and cruel capitalism. I was expecting a fairly quirky satire about American middle class stupidity, but instead was treated to an ambitious human drama which digs its heels into some weighty themes. It does get a little preachy at times, by suggesting that if you have everything then you have nothing and showcasing the alienation, isolation, and soul destroying effects of obscene materialism. But it keeps such a keen eye on conspicuous consumption and its effects, that The Joneses gives us a glimpse of modern consumer desire and may even show you an uncomfortable reflection of yourself if you are of this ilk.
There is a strong romantic thread at the heart of the film and I applaud it for avoiding the usual Hollywood sentimental schmaltz. David Duchovny and Demi Moore both turn out great performances and the supporting cast are ideal for the movie and its subject matter.
This film is absolutely not what I was expecting it to be, but I'm glad to say that this is a good thing. It's a sleeper hit that will no doubt find a big audience over time, providing a truthful human drama in much the same way as American Beauty and Secrets and Lies. Well worthy of your attention, and should give you plenty of food for thought if you like your materialistic lifestyle.
4 out of 5
SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD REVIEW
A film as pure in geek chic as Scott Pilgrim deserves a truly thoroughbred geek director, and it got one. Edgar Wright, the director behind the legendary Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, is about as geek as they come and is well qualified for this movie. Scott Pilgrim is a mad escapist fanboy fantasy about young love and romance and the bewildering complicated mess that it can be, alongside hard rocking grunge music, early 1990s videogame production design, endless martial arts scrapping, and comic book touches such as sound effects being visually represented with big words bouncing around the screen as a noise happens.
The plot is based on the graphic novels in which Scott must defeat the seven evil ex boyfriends of his new squeeze. They all have various skills and powers but, luckily for Scott, this is a world of pure fantasy and he has some pretty impressive fighting abilities himself, as well as an extraordinary resistance to injury. The movie doesn't so much flow, as bounces like a pinball trapped in a steroid vending machine. One second you get awkward romance, then a rock concert that leads right into a big fight that dives straight into the next bit and so on. It's runs at an exhausting pace but it is pretty good fun.
It may be slightly picky given the source material and the mission statement of the movie, but it has to be said that cramming seven major fights, several friendships, and several relationships into one flat-out movie does leave the character depth somewhat lacking, and the relationships are flimsy. To be honest everything flashes and pops past you at such a pace that you will barely notice that you even care about this until afterwards. The graphic novels do take a bit more time with these things (because they can I suppose) but Wright has crafted this movie pretty well and done okay with the characters, possibly as good as can be expected considering the amount he's stuffed into it.
Some excellent casting choices (including a couple of particularly genre-pleasing superhero veterans), a tight - if very silly - plot, and stacks of mind bending action make Scott Pilgrim vs the World a piece of genuinely fun entertainment. It isn't quite the Epic of Epic Epicness that the poster promised, but it is still pretty epic.
4 out of 5
GROWN UPS REVIEW
Adam Sandler and his real-life actor friends appear in this over sentimental comedy about family and friendship. A gang of grown up school pals are reunited after 30 years following the death of the old school basketball coach. They celebrate the life of the coach by visiting a holiday resort and water park, during which a whole load of p**s taking banter is exchanged, and a few manipulative moments of Hollywood sentimentality forces your skin to turn cold.
Watching this movie was fairly good fun, it did have a few funny moments in it that made me laugh but upon reflection, this is a very shallow, and very meaningless movie which boils down to Sandler and his mates filming themselves on a jolly that we then pay to see. And when I really thought about it, none of the laughs came from the narrative (which is incredibly weak), they only came from silly gag moments. It all felt a bit lazy and the quality control was clearly absent from the script writing process.
It certainly wasn't the worst film I've ever seen, and as Hollywood comedies struggle so much to make me laugh it gains a point for actually achieving a few chuckles. However you should watch this with the full expectation that it is a chocolate muffin. It has zero nutritional value, offering only a few tasty mouthfuls that will likely leave you feeling a bit off colour afterwards.
2 out of 5
DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS REVIEW
Steve Carell has more than proven himself to be a genuine comedy talent capable of taking on the sagging might of Jim Carey. In Dinner for Schmucks, he plays a person of extraordinary talent (otherwise known as an idiot) and is invited to dinner by a young executive who is trying to impress his boss and his girlfriend. The dinner in question is a rather dubious event in which the rich business guys bring an idiot along so that the business guys can all laugh at them. They even offer a humiliating trophy for the biggest idiot. It's a troubling plot that doesn't quite work out.
Carell plays the idiot very well. Instead of a bumbling comedy buffoon, which would have been the easy way to do it, he instead gives his idiot a bit of charm and character through an awkward innocence and generates a very likeable moron. Sadly, that's where any good words have to stop. The rest of the film is a bit lame overall, playing like a fairly basic TV sitcom and dishing out a very predictable conclusion. A few performances were notably poor, including Lucy Punch who played a stalker ex girlfriend with a camp pantomime enthusiasm and Little Britain's David Walliams, who was perhaps the worst actor in the whole movie. His Swiss aristocrat was simply atrocious and utterly devoid of even the slightest hint of humour.
It would be unfair to label this as a bad movie. It wasn't that bad. It even made me laugh several times. But I was left feeling that it ought to have been better, that it should have been better. The Dinner Game reminded me of an old 1980s satirical horror movie called Society, in which the rich aristocracy found perverse and bizarre ways to amuse themselves at the expense of the poor and the misfits of society. It was also seemingly informed by the likes of X-Factor and American Idol, in which millionaire judges sit and laugh at bewildered wannabes in cruel talent shows. It is an uncomfortable premise with a social commentary that was sadly drowned out in Dinner for Schmucks by its over indulgence on simply trying too hard to be funny.
3 out of 5
FOUR LIONS REVIEW
Comedy can transcend all controversy if handled right. I had no doubts whatsoever that in the hands of Chris Morris, a textbook example of genuine comedy genius if ever there was one, a comedy about British Muslim extremists would be sharp, witty, funny, and expertly crafted. Despite my lack of doubts and my complete faith, I was still impressed with just how smart and clever this film was. Four Lions is a blistering foray into the secretive world of Islamic terrorism, only the terrorists are inept to the point of borderline slapstick. Morris is not shy about revealing a few awkward realities in his movie, whether it's the brain-washed sexism of some young Muslim men, the horrific casualness and detachment with which the terrorists discuss blowing things up, or even the errors of judgement by the UK police force leading to the shooting of innocent people due to mistaken identity (this scene very cleverly uses fancy dress costumes to replace the racial descriptions of the victims involved. It is unrivalled brilliance, you have to see it to believe it).
Anyone who knows of Morris's work will no doubt remember the now notorious Brass Eye, especially the pedophile episode. If you apply the same thinking then you get how Four Lions is presented. It isn't anti-Islamic, nor anti-British, and to some degree it isn't even anti-terrorism. It steers well clear of being anti-anything (or pro-anything for that matter), and instead simply tells a tragic story about four misguided young men in a very funny way. What is most ingenious is that despite the horror of what the terrorists are planning, you still manage to sympathise with them and the tragedy of their inevitable outcome isn't lost on you.
Islamic terrorism is a terrifying subject and one which can be inflammatory, offensive, and just downright scary. It takes a committed effort to turn this very modern dangerous reality into a comedy delivered with warmth and sparkling humour without causing riots. But this is exactly what Four Lions does and once again, Chris Morris will either have you falling at his feet at the sheer scale of his genius or you'll be forming a lynch mob to hang the b*****d. Quite frankly this guy is the new messiah of modern comedy.
5 out of 5
COLOURED PEOPLE
I hate political correctness. It stifles creativity, crushes free opinions, and has more to do with "mind police" than it does with "moral guidelines". Under the principles of PC, nobody has the right to express judgemental opinions about people of colour. And so, in the spirit of free thinking and anti-PC dogma, here's what I think of coloured people in movies.
BLUE PEOPLE
There are not that many blue people in movies but what few exist are pretty interesting. The most obvious example at the moment is the Na'vi from Avatar, huge 9ft tall blue skinned aliens with very athletic bodies and tree-hugging warrior sensibilities. The X-Men movies were not short of a few blue people. The impossibly sexy Mystique, the supernatural Nightcrawler, and the powerful Beast, all share a blue ethnicity. The Diva, who sings a very unusual alien opera in the 5th Element, looks very tasty in blue, and of course Dr. Manhattan from the Watchmen has a hypnotic blue glowing skin which is awesome to behold. There is a tendency to make characters blue when they have an air of mystery to them, some sort of unique quality which can be either hostile or benign. Blue skinned character are often curious and romantic, with the ability to reveal hidden powers and unexpected qualities.
GREEN PEOPLE
Green skin usually represents all that is alien or mutant, often portraying the character as a grotesque otherworldly being. The fear of mutation caused by exposure to scientific experiments is captured in the raging spirit of the Hulk. Yoda, on the other hand, is a wise old Jedi who sports a very alien green hue in his skin pigment. Shrek is a family favourite, an ogre who is loveable and hideous with his green flesh, representing some form of mutated humanoid being, and the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz is also green, demonstrating her detachment from mainstream humanity by appearing once again like a mutated image of womanhood. In nature, green is an earthy colour, adopted by reptiles and exotic birds, but in culture it is a fearsome colour. Aliens are often described as "little green men" and weird creatures in mythology are often green. Green skin represents the inner fears of what we fail to understand.
RED PEOPLE
Behind our own human skin, no matter what colour we are on the outside, we are all made of red fleshy chunks. Frank, the evil villain from Clive Barker's Hellraiser, spent most of the movie without any skin at all, walking around with his muscles and tendons on show for all the world to see. This is the most extreme use of red on the human form. To peel away the superficial layers to reveal what lies beneath, to get to the truth about all human life, that we are all the same just a few millimetres beneath our skin. Red is also the classic skin colour for the Devil, and it is rare that you get a loveable hero with red skin. Hellboy, a demonic being, and Darkness, the mighty demon from Legend, both have hellish red skin. Darth Maul's red skin with its black tattooed tribal patterns has an eerie menace to it. It seems almost painfully obvious that red skin represents evil and peril, and is not to be trusted.
WHITE PEOPLE
No, not white like caucasian, but proper white. White skin reminds us of our mortality, as the characters that sport this deathly countenance are often the vampires, the zombies, the ghosts, the demonic, and the undead. The haunting image of Hellraiser's Pin Head, the grim pallor of Vampire Bill's intense stare, and the creepy white make-ups of the Crow and the Joker, all send eerie signals to our brains that these characters have all confronted the chilling shadow of death, something we ourselves will one day face. White skin may remind us of human skulls or of supernatural images of ghosts, but whatever triggers they pull in our brains, white skinned movie characters certainly reminds us that we're not built to last and this is why they always send shivers down our spines.
What? You thought this would actually be offensive? Gimme a break!
www.rebeldog.co.uk
THE LAST EXORCISM REVIEW
For far too long, The Exorcist has remained the top of the pile among demonic possession and exorcism movies. Although the Evil Dead movies successfully ramped up the possession themes during the 1980s, nothing has touched the grandaddy of these movies with its deeply religious overtones, shocking possession scenes, and groundbreaking (for its time) horror. It was with some hope that I went to see The Last Exorcism, the latest offering from Eli Roth, that this may be The Exorcist for the modern era.
What strikes you immediately is the quality of the acting. The cast of relatively unknown actors is incredibly strong, and nobody - not even the minor bit parts - puts in a poor performance. The stand out performances are the two main characters played by Patrick Fabian, who plays the exorcist who has a dwindling belief in his own religious livelihood, and Ashley Bell, the sweet young teenage girl who seems to be deeply troubled by guilt, shame, and demonic forces. Her performance is amazingly subtle and honest, worthy of some note.
This is another of those Blair Witch type movies, shot with a hand held camera which is in the narrative fabric of the story, and played for all its worth like a genuine documentary. If you don't like this type of film then The Last Exorcism won't convert you - you'll probably hate it. But if you appreciate this type of movie, which effectively removes a layer of safety by preventing you from being a passive observer to the narrative and forces you to feel more immediately involved, then you will find plenty of good stuff in here. The film is shot incredibly well, acted superbly, and even has the guts to raise some prickly questions about religious faith and the nature of shame. The demonic possession scenes feel a bit restrained, as though the film makers did not dare tread into the murky waters that The Exorcist bathed in so forcefully, and instead plays safe to avoid causing too much offence. This is a big shame as the movie sets up its stall so carefully and superbly, yet the actual goods for sale feel a bit lacking and unadventurous.
This would have been a five star movie but for one major thing that ruins it. The ending. Sadly, The Last Exorcism completely falls apart at the end, so much so that it manages to undo all the good work done at the start of the movie and makes a total mockery of itself. The end is so poor that it actually makes the whole film feel like it was terrible. It's an unbelievable shame, and a total betrayal to the superb cast of actors. My advice would be to leave the cinema 10 minutes before the film ends, and leave it on a cliffhanger rather than suffer the most ridiculous conclusion ever filmed. This movie came so close to being a great horror movie and a contender to The Exorcist, but ultimately it fails in a most spectacular manner.
3 out of 5
THE JONESES REVIEW
The Joneses are a rather strange family of well-off suburbanites who seem to enjoy all the material perks of wealth, spreading the desires of cold consumerism among their neighbours and forever showing off their latest designer goods. What emerges is that this family is a fake, put together and implanted into a wealthy community to act as covert salespeople. They are there to sell a lifestyle, to pretend to be the ultimate happy family, and to display the dubious quality that their happiness comes from their material wealth.
What surprised me most about The Joneses is just how deep and heavy it dares to go in its exploration of material desire and cruel capitalism. I was expecting a fairly quirky satire about American middle class stupidity, but instead was treated to an ambitious human drama which digs its heels into some weighty themes. It does get a little preachy at times, by suggesting that if you have everything then you have nothing and showcasing the alienation, isolation, and soul destroying effects of obscene materialism. But it keeps such a keen eye on conspicuous consumption and its effects, that The Joneses gives us a glimpse of modern consumer desire and may even show you an uncomfortable reflection of yourself if you are of this ilk.
There is a strong romantic thread at the heart of the film and I applaud it for avoiding the usual Hollywood sentimental schmaltz. David Duchovny and Demi Moore both turn out great performances and the supporting cast are ideal for the movie and its subject matter.
This film is absolutely not what I was expecting it to be, but I'm glad to say that this is a good thing. It's a sleeper hit that will no doubt find a big audience over time, providing a truthful human drama in much the same way as American Beauty and Secrets and Lies. Well worthy of your attention, and should give you plenty of food for thought if you like your materialistic lifestyle.
4 out of 5
SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD REVIEW
A film as pure in geek chic as Scott Pilgrim deserves a truly thoroughbred geek director, and it got one. Edgar Wright, the director behind the legendary Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, is about as geek as they come and is well qualified for this movie. Scott Pilgrim is a mad escapist fanboy fantasy about young love and romance and the bewildering complicated mess that it can be, alongside hard rocking grunge music, early 1990s videogame production design, endless martial arts scrapping, and comic book touches such as sound effects being visually represented with big words bouncing around the screen as a noise happens.
The plot is based on the graphic novels in which Scott must defeat the seven evil ex boyfriends of his new squeeze. They all have various skills and powers but, luckily for Scott, this is a world of pure fantasy and he has some pretty impressive fighting abilities himself, as well as an extraordinary resistance to injury. The movie doesn't so much flow, as bounces like a pinball trapped in a steroid vending machine. One second you get awkward romance, then a rock concert that leads right into a big fight that dives straight into the next bit and so on. It's runs at an exhausting pace but it is pretty good fun.
It may be slightly picky given the source material and the mission statement of the movie, but it has to be said that cramming seven major fights, several friendships, and several relationships into one flat-out movie does leave the character depth somewhat lacking, and the relationships are flimsy. To be honest everything flashes and pops past you at such a pace that you will barely notice that you even care about this until afterwards. The graphic novels do take a bit more time with these things (because they can I suppose) but Wright has crafted this movie pretty well and done okay with the characters, possibly as good as can be expected considering the amount he's stuffed into it.
Some excellent casting choices (including a couple of particularly genre-pleasing superhero veterans), a tight - if very silly - plot, and stacks of mind bending action make Scott Pilgrim vs the World a piece of genuinely fun entertainment. It isn't quite the Epic of Epic Epicness that the poster promised, but it is still pretty epic.
4 out of 5
GROWN UPS REVIEW
Adam Sandler and his real-life actor friends appear in this over sentimental comedy about family and friendship. A gang of grown up school pals are reunited after 30 years following the death of the old school basketball coach. They celebrate the life of the coach by visiting a holiday resort and water park, during which a whole load of p**s taking banter is exchanged, and a few manipulative moments of Hollywood sentimentality forces your skin to turn cold.
Watching this movie was fairly good fun, it did have a few funny moments in it that made me laugh but upon reflection, this is a very shallow, and very meaningless movie which boils down to Sandler and his mates filming themselves on a jolly that we then pay to see. And when I really thought about it, none of the laughs came from the narrative (which is incredibly weak), they only came from silly gag moments. It all felt a bit lazy and the quality control was clearly absent from the script writing process.
It certainly wasn't the worst film I've ever seen, and as Hollywood comedies struggle so much to make me laugh it gains a point for actually achieving a few chuckles. However you should watch this with the full expectation that it is a chocolate muffin. It has zero nutritional value, offering only a few tasty mouthfuls that will likely leave you feeling a bit off colour afterwards.
2 out of 5
DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS REVIEW
Steve Carell has more than proven himself to be a genuine comedy talent capable of taking on the sagging might of Jim Carey. In Dinner for Schmucks, he plays a person of extraordinary talent (otherwise known as an idiot) and is invited to dinner by a young executive who is trying to impress his boss and his girlfriend. The dinner in question is a rather dubious event in which the rich business guys bring an idiot along so that the business guys can all laugh at them. They even offer a humiliating trophy for the biggest idiot. It's a troubling plot that doesn't quite work out.
Carell plays the idiot very well. Instead of a bumbling comedy buffoon, which would have been the easy way to do it, he instead gives his idiot a bit of charm and character through an awkward innocence and generates a very likeable moron. Sadly, that's where any good words have to stop. The rest of the film is a bit lame overall, playing like a fairly basic TV sitcom and dishing out a very predictable conclusion. A few performances were notably poor, including Lucy Punch who played a stalker ex girlfriend with a camp pantomime enthusiasm and Little Britain's David Walliams, who was perhaps the worst actor in the whole movie. His Swiss aristocrat was simply atrocious and utterly devoid of even the slightest hint of humour.
It would be unfair to label this as a bad movie. It wasn't that bad. It even made me laugh several times. But I was left feeling that it ought to have been better, that it should have been better. The Dinner Game reminded me of an old 1980s satirical horror movie called Society, in which the rich aristocracy found perverse and bizarre ways to amuse themselves at the expense of the poor and the misfits of society. It was also seemingly informed by the likes of X-Factor and American Idol, in which millionaire judges sit and laugh at bewildered wannabes in cruel talent shows. It is an uncomfortable premise with a social commentary that was sadly drowned out in Dinner for Schmucks by its over indulgence on simply trying too hard to be funny.
3 out of 5
FOUR LIONS REVIEW
Comedy can transcend all controversy if handled right. I had no doubts whatsoever that in the hands of Chris Morris, a textbook example of genuine comedy genius if ever there was one, a comedy about British Muslim extremists would be sharp, witty, funny, and expertly crafted. Despite my lack of doubts and my complete faith, I was still impressed with just how smart and clever this film was. Four Lions is a blistering foray into the secretive world of Islamic terrorism, only the terrorists are inept to the point of borderline slapstick. Morris is not shy about revealing a few awkward realities in his movie, whether it's the brain-washed sexism of some young Muslim men, the horrific casualness and detachment with which the terrorists discuss blowing things up, or even the errors of judgement by the UK police force leading to the shooting of innocent people due to mistaken identity (this scene very cleverly uses fancy dress costumes to replace the racial descriptions of the victims involved. It is unrivalled brilliance, you have to see it to believe it).
Anyone who knows of Morris's work will no doubt remember the now notorious Brass Eye, especially the pedophile episode. If you apply the same thinking then you get how Four Lions is presented. It isn't anti-Islamic, nor anti-British, and to some degree it isn't even anti-terrorism. It steers well clear of being anti-anything (or pro-anything for that matter), and instead simply tells a tragic story about four misguided young men in a very funny way. What is most ingenious is that despite the horror of what the terrorists are planning, you still manage to sympathise with them and the tragedy of their inevitable outcome isn't lost on you.
Islamic terrorism is a terrifying subject and one which can be inflammatory, offensive, and just downright scary. It takes a committed effort to turn this very modern dangerous reality into a comedy delivered with warmth and sparkling humour without causing riots. But this is exactly what Four Lions does and once again, Chris Morris will either have you falling at his feet at the sheer scale of his genius or you'll be forming a lynch mob to hang the b*****d. Quite frankly this guy is the new messiah of modern comedy.
5 out of 5
COLOURED PEOPLE
I hate political correctness. It stifles creativity, crushes free opinions, and has more to do with "mind police" than it does with "moral guidelines". Under the principles of PC, nobody has the right to express judgemental opinions about people of colour. And so, in the spirit of free thinking and anti-PC dogma, here's what I think of coloured people in movies.
BLUE PEOPLE
There are not that many blue people in movies but what few exist are pretty interesting. The most obvious example at the moment is the Na'vi from Avatar, huge 9ft tall blue skinned aliens with very athletic bodies and tree-hugging warrior sensibilities. The X-Men movies were not short of a few blue people. The impossibly sexy Mystique, the supernatural Nightcrawler, and the powerful Beast, all share a blue ethnicity. The Diva, who sings a very unusual alien opera in the 5th Element, looks very tasty in blue, and of course Dr. Manhattan from the Watchmen has a hypnotic blue glowing skin which is awesome to behold. There is a tendency to make characters blue when they have an air of mystery to them, some sort of unique quality which can be either hostile or benign. Blue skinned character are often curious and romantic, with the ability to reveal hidden powers and unexpected qualities.
GREEN PEOPLE
Green skin usually represents all that is alien or mutant, often portraying the character as a grotesque otherworldly being. The fear of mutation caused by exposure to scientific experiments is captured in the raging spirit of the Hulk. Yoda, on the other hand, is a wise old Jedi who sports a very alien green hue in his skin pigment. Shrek is a family favourite, an ogre who is loveable and hideous with his green flesh, representing some form of mutated humanoid being, and the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz is also green, demonstrating her detachment from mainstream humanity by appearing once again like a mutated image of womanhood. In nature, green is an earthy colour, adopted by reptiles and exotic birds, but in culture it is a fearsome colour. Aliens are often described as "little green men" and weird creatures in mythology are often green. Green skin represents the inner fears of what we fail to understand.
RED PEOPLE
Behind our own human skin, no matter what colour we are on the outside, we are all made of red fleshy chunks. Frank, the evil villain from Clive Barker's Hellraiser, spent most of the movie without any skin at all, walking around with his muscles and tendons on show for all the world to see. This is the most extreme use of red on the human form. To peel away the superficial layers to reveal what lies beneath, to get to the truth about all human life, that we are all the same just a few millimetres beneath our skin. Red is also the classic skin colour for the Devil, and it is rare that you get a loveable hero with red skin. Hellboy, a demonic being, and Darkness, the mighty demon from Legend, both have hellish red skin. Darth Maul's red skin with its black tattooed tribal patterns has an eerie menace to it. It seems almost painfully obvious that red skin represents evil and peril, and is not to be trusted.
WHITE PEOPLE
No, not white like caucasian, but proper white. White skin reminds us of our mortality, as the characters that sport this deathly countenance are often the vampires, the zombies, the ghosts, the demonic, and the undead. The haunting image of Hellraiser's Pin Head, the grim pallor of Vampire Bill's intense stare, and the creepy white make-ups of the Crow and the Joker, all send eerie signals to our brains that these characters have all confronted the chilling shadow of death, something we ourselves will one day face. White skin may remind us of human skulls or of supernatural images of ghosts, but whatever triggers they pull in our brains, white skinned movie characters certainly reminds us that we're not built to last and this is why they always send shivers down our spines.
What? You thought this would actually be offensive? Gimme a break!
- That's the first I have heard or seen about that film but it looks as though it's going to be really good. I checked out the films official website D-9.com - its really interactive and good fun. It reminds me in a way of Starship Troopers with its infomercials and humans against aliens theme. I shall look out for it. Thanks.
- Thats why the majority of fresh Ideas are nowing coming from the Far East,the Korean "Old Boy"trilogy and also the refocusing of the horror genre by the Japanese i.e. "The Ring"and "Dark Water".Hollywoods creative drive Is bankrupt.
- Have you seen KNOWING? What did you think of it?
- I fell asleep somewhere after the time capsule was opened and he was breaking up the house to write all those numbers down on a large marker board...all a big yawn for me I'm afraid.
- I hate people messing about with Sherlock Holmes. They turn everything into a pop video nowadays anyway which is a shame as the core of the story gets lost in the computer generated stuff. One particular example of this was Van Helsing. On paper it looked a good one, but looney graphics buggered it all up...for me anyway. But then at my age the movies are not aimed at me anyway.
I have every Sherlock Holmes story in book form, I think I have anyway..and have been reading them for years so have a fixed picture of how they should be. - I feel one the best directors at the moment Is Guielleme del Torro,his films are fresh and full of Innovation.Pans Labyrinth was ground breaking,he Is what Tim Burton aspires to be.
- What do you think of the current CGI in films? Is it still great or has it all become too much?
- What do you think of the current CGI in films? Is it still great or has it all become too much?
- I have just one name to throw Into the mix Ray Harryhausen a true "stop motion" genius.On the subject of C.G.I.I believe we have reached the stage of the only limits being human creativity and a source of original Ideas.Unfortunately, In film land as In every day life, these are an increasingly rare set of commodities
- Oh No, not more re-makes! is it true that The Dam Busters is to suffer the same fate?
- Work on a remake of The Dam Busters, produced by Peter Jackson and directed by first time director Christian Rivers, has been in production since last year although I haven't been able to find any more concrete news than that.
- What do you think of the Avatar trailer?
- Interesting that you review an old movie there Rick. Havent seen the one mentioned, or at least i dont recall it. But would just add how enjoyable or indeed brilliant some of those old movies are. BBC2 have just run a weekend of film noir which were just fab. I watched 'Build my Gallows High' last night sunday and although Ive seen it many moons ago it was still very good to see again. Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer were the leads but with a good ensemble cast including Kirk Douglas and Rhonda Fleming in support roles. How is it that they could make the simple scene of a car driving down a highway appear interesting. Great stuff!
- That was back in the days when they had talented actors and directors and no computer animators!
- when will the new tarantino epic be reviewed on here.
from what i have heard he has breathed new life into an old story. - Haven't seen it yet but many of my sources report that it isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'm not sure I'll be bothering to go to the cinema for this one.
- I have just watched 'Knowing' on BluRay and thoroughly recommend it. I wont give away any plot but it does keep you guesssing and its Nicholas Cage's best performance yet. There are three superb special effect scenes, among the best I have ever seen, the plane crash, the subway crash, and the final scene that I wont mention as it gives too much away.
- i must admit that i like the sound of that "fifty dead men walking".
most of the films that have come out of the ulster troubles have been captivating, very few have been "gung ho", instead depicting the problem of how youngsters get involved with both sides of the divide.
does anyone remember "the crying game"? - The Thing - one of my faves - hope that Dark Star makes a re-appearance too.
- I love Dark Star, especially the beachball alien and the intelligent bomb! Brilliant movie.
- Just to drift off on a tangent here for the moment...last night I made another effort to try and get through TITANIC. It was being shown on Film Four, the channel with more repeats than an indigestion sufferer. I started off with gusto but in no time at all I just couldnt take it. To me its just plain bad and horribly studio bound. Sure the graphics are good if you like that sort of thing, but generally I thought it a teen movie. Like Neighbours at sea.
How was it such a success? Well I dunno, but obviously it was. Clearly I wouldnt make a good film reviewer as the thing won a bag of awards...but I couldnt see anything in it of note, other than a charismatic turn from DiCapprio. - The problem with Titanic is, I believe, James Cameron (the director). He is renowned across the movie world for his innovative filmmaking, perfectionist style, and genius techniques in sci fi and action. However, he is also well known for being extremely poor at handling any type of romantic content. His written romantic dialogue is often wooden and naive and the matter does not suit his directing style. The third act of Titanic (in which all the action takes place as the human conflicts arise and the boat sinks) is typical Cameron (ie brilliant), but he forces us to sit through almost 2 hours of repulsive romantic claptrap to get there. Titanic would have been amazing had the first half been directed by a more suitable director, with Cameron handling the tremendous disaster scenes. Quite how this film remains one of the biggest box office success stories of all time bewilders me!
- I absolutely LOVED Cameron's Titanic - not for the soppy love theme (which it was hard to ignore!), but for the glorious re-creation of the ship itself.
The ship was a boyhood fascination that has come along with me and when Dr Ballard found it in 1985 I wanted to go straight down to see it.
I may be personally responsible for helping it's box office success as I went to see it 10 times and have video and DVD versions of it too...
I just watch it again and again for the attention to detail in all it's wonder, I know I'm sad, please, please Mr Cameron can you build another and let it float on for me to wander and wonder on... - i was told that the book "da vinci code" was a good read.
i doubt whether even jeffrey archer could be as dire, the author was trying to convince the reader that there was a bible code.
noone had explained to him that the bible was not a book, but a series of selective writings spread over thousands of years.
i think i will give the film you mention a miss. - Just a reflection here on Planet of the Apes....the Tim Burton remake. This was on television recently and I settled in, got out my old string vest for max comfort, got my pot noodle simmering away, with more oxidants than is safe to take in large doses, and thought to myself this is gonna be great. I quite like some of the Tim Burton stuff so felt it would be a winner.
I have been around long enough to have seen the original Planet in the cinemas, with the fabulous Charlton Heston. But before too long it was all too clear that this new film was awful, with a guy called Mark Wahlberg in the lead. Unless it was me on an off day but this guy has no charisma whatsoever, so how on earth he ever got to be a leading player, how on earth anyone saw him in Charlton Heston mode is beyond me. Anyway without a charismatic lead in something like this all is lost pretty quick, and the film rambled on ad nauseum for what seemed like hours.
Some films are a success because of their time, neither the feeling that was prevalent then, nor the mood that was prevalent then, can be recreated. - Totally agree Paul. The thing is, Mark Wahlberg is a great actor. Did you see him in The Departed? But then he does Planet of the Apes and The Happening and gets a bad reputation. Shame really, the guy really does have great talent.
- Actually Howard - Archer has written some very good books. First Among Equals is one of my favourites and there are two or three others that are execellent too. One, the title escapes me, of a barrow boy who rose to become a tycoon was first class.
I did enjoy Brown's Da Vinci Code and two or three other titles of his as well. You just have to remember its fiction.
As for Mark Wahlberg PaulB, I watched a film a year or so ago with him starring, the Shooter I think it was called. He was an ex Army sniper called back to do a job and was 'stitched up' and had to go on the run. He was excellent in it. - Well I may have missed the best of Mark Wahlberg. He was also in that one as I remember called A Perfect Storm. He was in the immediate support role to George Clooney in that. That was the film about fisherman in Nova Scotia or some such bleak outpost. He was okay in that but I didnt know who he was so he didnt particularly register..but will watch out for him in future.
Rick is right there in his piece above re Planet of the Apes as it was one of the best endings ever. The original film was great but as with all great milestone movies is spoiled by sequels and remakes.
Who remembers the sequels to The Magnificent Seven for example...a complete indication of what NOT to do in cinema if you want to preserve integrity. - Some good reviews there Rick but sorry to hear that Dillinger is poor. I was quite excited when I heard about Johnny Depp as Dillinger as on paper it looks pretty good. Johnny does tackle the oddball challenging roles and is generally great value in any lead. Good here too as you say, but the picture as a whole you dont rate too highly.
I used to love the oul gangster movies at one time...off the top of my head, and Im not looking this up anywhere as I write but using the 'grey cells'...I seem to remember two previous versions in my era anyway...one with Ray Danton, anyone remember him? he seemed to corner the cheaper gangster movies in the sixties before they went upmarket with The Godfather and Marlon Brando, and another Dillinger movie with Warren Oates as Dillinger and Ben Johnson, stalwart of many a John Wayne movie, as Purvis.
Great fun they were, all shoot em up without too much thinking required. The Godfather made everything very serious from there on in. - It is a shame Paul, I was looking forward to Public Enemies too. Depp is always good (and he is the best thing in this film) but there are far better gangster films around, Godfather I and II, The Untouchables, and Goodfellows are still the top shows.
- Rick - I actually enjoyed 10,000 BC....silly film maybe but still entertaining.
- I watched the Blu-Ray of Star Trek yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes its hokum but it is good hokum so what more can you ask....
Unlike you Rick I do like my sci-fi and enjoyed many of the Star Trek films and tv series. Its good that this film bridges the divide and could, with some good sequels, re-invigorate the Star trek franchise. - I remember the old Sci-Fi ones in black and white and looking back, and Im going way back here, they dont seem much now, but at the time were hugely popular. There was one..the name escapes me..where Michael Rennie visits Earth and lands in the local park in his flying saucer. He gets off to a bad start but he is awfully nice.. but of course misunderstood, he befriends a local homespun family and the story evolves.
Glad to see Rick is calling for limitations on the over use of CGI...those old movies could have done with some of it but in modern times the CGI overkill kills the story..or makes it ridiculous. Van Helsing springs to mind. I may have mentioned this before, I settled in hoping for a good one but got something approaching a cartoon. The Van Helsing story itself is a classic.
Steven Spielberg was hugely popular as we know. But my feeling was that he spoiled Sci Fi to a degree making everything too sweet and wholesome. Where Stanley Kubrick went he didnt want to follow...sadly, as the talent was there. But in Box Office terms they went ballistic, so a different kind of success I suppose. - Paul, I believe the movie you're thinking of is The Day The Earth Stood Still, with Michael Rennie. I recently watched this movie (NOT the shallow, vapid remake with Keanu Reeves) and still find it compelling viewing.
There is certainly a lot to be said for non-CGI effects in films. Movies that use practical effects just seem somehow more "authentic" even if the effect looks rubbery or plastic. CGI just doesn't cut it any more. James Cameron's new AVATAR is quite possibly the biggest CGI effects movie ever made and it promised to be the movie that changed movies forever, ending all those arguments about CGI being "unrealistic". What rubbish! Around 20 minutes of footage from this film can now be found online and every single second of it looks like a Pixar cartoon or a videogame.
How I long for a man in a latext monster costume to smash up a miniature New York while stop-frame animated winged demons fly downwards and spit flames all over the matt painted background. Good old days. - Yes Ive seen that Fire in the Sky one and enjoyed it too. Saw it on TV a while back and its a very good story well told. They keep it simple and it works. Liked it.
Ive seen some of the Terminator ones with Big Arn and all enjoyable. But Im wondering now if those kind of movies have had their day. You know the kind...big muscular industructable guys who bash everyone up in double quick time with exalted super karate chops. They were hugely successful. Arnie was first and everyone loved him, but then all followed, Sylvester Stallone next, then a host of others like low-renters Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal. Ever see Seagals early attempts at acting...the one where he was a cop in a busy downtown precinct. Strewth..show me the exit!
Yes Rick I think you've got it there re The Day the Earth Stood Still. Ah happy cinema days when you could enjoy stuffing your face with copious amounts of fab popcorn and no one had invented the term 'cholesterol levels'! - Has anyone else seen Paranormal Activity yet? Did it scare you? It scared the hell out of me!!
- seeing the names of useless actors here from rick and paul reminds me of others.
i would never watch a film that they were in because of that.
kevin costner,denzel washington, tom hanks and mel gibson spring to mind immediately.
anyone like to add to the list? - Useless actors? Yeah I like this game :o)
Here's my top few worst actors....
Keanu Reeves (like watching wood rot)
Halle Berry (Her talent ain't in her acting!)
Ben Affleck (like watching grass grow)
John Heder (Napoleon Dynamite bloke - hopeless)
Jason Statham (Irritates more than bowel infection)
Will Ferrell (Some say he ain't funny any more - was he ever?)
Nicolas Cage (Nothing good since the 1980s)
Tom Cruise (isn't he a scientist now or something?)
Jennifer Lopez (oh puhh-LEEEEZE!)
Kate Bosworth (she managed to kill Superman!)
Pamela Anderson (like watching two rubber rocks fighting for space)
Am happy to read more..... - keanu certainly has earned his place at the top of the pile.
harrison ford?
most irritating
jim carey?
will have to give this some thought. - Yes I would certainly go along with Keanu...how do they manage to get onto the silver screen in the first place, truly amazing.
One of the worst performances recently was from Mel Gibson in...ermm..I think it was called Signs. Where they found crop circles and something weird going on in the cornfields in mid west america. He was required to do a bit of emotion in that but fell far short of what was required. The term wooden plank springs to mind. He was also awful in Maverick. The original, James Garner all them years ago was totally brill. He was a hard act to follow for sure. Mel couldnt manage it. - in fairness to mel, his performance in braveheart was truly exceptional.
i counted 6 different accents from him, would have been even better if one of them had been scottish. - i almost forgot, the one and only roger moore.
ever since his days as simon templar, to me he has always played roger moore. - Good one there Howard re Mel Gibson and his bewildering accents, non of them Scottish!!lol
Roger was always Roger but from my point of view he was very enjoyable in almost all the roles he played. He couldnt play Shakespeare its true, but I think his Bond is underated. For a while he was sort of airbrushed out of the reckoning but I think over time affection has set in ...what with him being a British institution n all.
Big mistake on the CV though was that recent Post Office ad. His agent should be flogged for that one. One must always fade away when the time is right. - can we include tv actors in this, or is it against the spirit of the blog.?
- Great stuff there Rick, quite a fascinating collection of movies. Heard about that top one Inglorious Basterds so it was interesting to see what you say about it.
But yes have seen all those Dracula ones. Bram Stoker hails from the same shores as me , as I remember, so have always taken a creepy fascination in how his works play out in the cinema. Although have seen all three Im afraid the one with Frank Llangela hasnt lingered in the memory.
But yes Nosferatu was spooky and grim. Klaus Kinski at the height of his fame played Dracula in that one with flamboyant fingernails reminiscent of Howard Hughes. Klaus first came to light as the nutter drug addict baddie in one of those great Dollar movies that made Clint Eastwoods name, and Klaus went on then to work with his fellow German, director Werner Herzog, on a number of films. Those were the days when international films, ie French, Italian and German cinema, had a good commercial market...sadly this seems to be the case no more. But one of the Herzog collaborations was Nosferatu. Very enjoyable, but worlds apart from our own wonderful Hammer horrors!
But what a great poster there...bet thats a collectable.
Also saw the bottom one Dracula which was made by Francis Ford Coppola. As a director this guy could do no wrong at one time..and yes indeed the film is good but as Rick says above, Keanu Reeves was a poor choice in the central role. However Keanu, for reasons best known only to God himself, was a box office hit at the time, as was a pre shoplifting Winona Ryder. But nevertheless all good stuff. Sadie Frost was one of the prominent females in the film, in fact we featured a picture of her in this, in our cinema quiz recently, but whatever became of her film career after that. Nothing. Watch for her in it, she looks quite striking and is the first one to get her blood sucked...you wouldnt think she was destined for obscurity. - Cheers Paul. I was considering adding the original Bella Lugosi version too but I struggle to consider this as relevant any more. I suppose it has its supporters but I can't honestly say I'm one of them. However, I do like the original Wolfman and am looking forward to next year's remake, the trailer for which is looking mighty promising!
- with christmas tv close upon us, has rick any must see films that he can recommend?
- Ah you beat me to it Howard, I was going to ask Rick exactly the same question.
- Ah, you ask something there! I'm really not into TV and tend to watch very little (even movies, I really only watch DVDs). However I have taken a look and the line up really isn't outstanding this Xmas. But out of this lot I'd probably recommend:
School of Rock (Jack Black musical comedy with some amazingly talented kids)
Chicken Run (animated fun)
The Wicker Man (classic horror that is always an entertaining yarn)
The Painted Veil (excellent relationship drama with superb performances and interesting story)
This is Spinal Tap (great mockumentary of mock rock band - plenty of laughs)
Some Like it Hot (Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis amd Jack Lemmon star in this highly enjoyable cross-dressing romp)
Quantum of Solace (pretty good James Bond adventure)
Full list here:
telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/6840640/Christmas-2009-the-best-films-on-TV.html - I'd like to see Quantum of Solace...Ive never seen Daniel Craig in the James Bond role, wonder if he is any good? But I think this showing is on Sky but havent got Sky so guess I wont be seeing it this time either.
We spoke recently on Doverforum somewhere about The Third Man, thats on on Boxing Day and will be really worth another look as its one of the all time greats. Its on BBC4.
Another one thats certainly a great movie but a little tougher to watch, is The Pianist which is on ITV monday 28. Adrien Brody won an oscar for that one and a well deserved oscar too. Certainly I would say thats really worth seeing but like I say a bit tougher on the sinews.
I missed the guide that comes with the Daily Mail as wasnt able to get to the shop. The Daily Mail is not a paper to warm to, if your a Labour supporter, however they do produce the best TV guide every saturday. Good coverage of movies and so on. I went out and bought the Total TV Guide for £2 as I missed getting the other one...but its quite good. - out of that lot "the third man","the whicker man" and "chicken run" hold most appeal, thanks chaps.
incidentally, last evening i watched the modern version of "kingkong", great special effects, brilliant camerawork, reasonable acting and so forth.
how come that the 1930's version in black and white with none of the above advantages is much more memorable? - Ah! Some Like it Hot, one of my favourite movies of all time, always a great laugh to be had no matter how many times you see it.
- Howard, you just try getting a young kid to sit and watch the original 1933 King Kong. It's my favourite movie of all time, and the movie that got me into movies back when I was a little kid. But it is difficult to get a modern digital-age youngster to sit through it, so in order to keep the classic story alive it simply had to be remade for a young digital-age audience. And Peter Jackson did a fantastic job, makign one of th ebest remakes of any movie for a long time. As a life-long fan of King Kong, I was always dubious of the remake but when I finally saw it at the cinema I was thrilled with how good it was.
- i would not disagree with any of that rick, my biggest problem is that they seemed to blow up a silverback to a great size and try to make him frightening.
we all now know that silverbacks are a fairly harmless creatures and great family animals. at the time of the original film they were widely considered as monsters. - Well THE THIRD MAN has come and gone now on BBC4 and what a fab work of art. There are so many gems in it that you just wouldnt know how to describe it. Orson Welles is on the screen for only ten minutes in total but its probably the best 10 minute performance you will ever see. The moment when, although thought to be dead, the light from a nearby window lights up Harry Lime's (Welles) face in the dark shadows, well it is probably the best moment in cinematic history. If someone knows of a better one let us know.
Directed by Sir Carol Reed, produced by Alexander Korda and with screenplay by Graham Greene, well they dont get much better than those guys. And the B&W photography is the best you will ever see... and of course that iconic music.
The words of course are written by Greene but it seems that the extra little speech Lime makes as he leaves the big wheel in Vienna, where he refers to the Swiss and their Cuckoo clocks, was actually originated not by Greene but by Orson Welles himself. A true gem. - I've seen Avatar at the cinema in 3D and I thought it was amazing! :) great special effects and it came across magical in a way. I even cried :P so I would definitely recommend it to everyone!
- Good Briony, glad you enjoyed it too. I'm off to watch it on IMAX in the new year so will report back on that experience once I've seen it.
- Good to see that Briony was able to comment there on Avatar.
The cinema nowadays seems to be a place for the younger ones. You have done a great page there Rick, terrific all round stuff. Im not really able to comment on most of them myself as they are all fairly recent cinema outings and I know nothing.
But one movie that stuck in my mind in recent times was The Talented Mr Ripley. I think that qualifies as a movie of the last ten years, thinking off the top of my head. I thought that one to be very good indeed with great performances and an unbelievable tension stream running all the way through, and with exciting European location which makes a change from the tedium of New York or California. It put its two newer stars on the map Matt Damon and Jude Law, in addition it had a great turn from the lovely Gwyneth Palthrow who I think was already on the map.
With regard the future Im hoping that the western will make a comeback. Too many westerns in recent times featured too many pretty boy pop image type heroes..these kinds of attempts will never resurrect the genre. We need grit and ravaged faces with a real feeling for the times with a thinking and dialogue to match. Not alas 21st century women spouting dialogue that would never have been anywhere real at the time, and washed clean young guys with faces like they have just stepped into the wild west off the Fahrenhite 451 commercial being shot next door. - on the subject of westerns, i loved the spaghetti versions.
the music and atmosphere made these films and was probably not that far from the truth.
the cast list used to crack me up, all full of italian and spanish names, most probably not even aware what was going on around them. - not much response to ricks hard work here.
will start another discussion.
did anyone watch the film(french language) on bbc4 a couple of nights ago about the life of edith piaf?
it totally transfixed me, the people who played the little sparrow over her life were all perfect, the direction was superb.
just to clarify to anyone that does not know her background, she was born to a street singer, brought up by prostitutes in a brothel,
never had the good looks expected of an entertainer at that time, her interpretation of songs was totally original always sung from the heart.
she eventually conquered broadway, but had all the emotional problems you would expect from her upbringing.
the booze destroyed her eventually.
i would urge anyone that has not heard of her to buy her records,"le vie en rose" and "no rien" to understand the make up of edith.
the only singer i can compare her with is janis joplin. - Yes! And don't you find it utterly depressing that she was reduced to a culturally affronting appearance in a bloody Specsaver advert? I can't remember the last time I saw such a prime example of "nothing is sacred".
- Oh dear!! re Dorian Gray. Just like Rick I was a big fan of the original movie with Hurd Hatfield, and of course a fan of the original and very novel book...which I have read a number of times although quite a few years ago now. But judging by what Rick's Review says there, this new movie isnt very good at all only scoring one star.
Its always bad when you see this kind of thing, particularly when you know they have access to wonderful source material. I think there is a tendency to slick everything up nowadays so that the usually teen audiences these days, fed on a diet of video games and action movies, wont get bored too easily. In an effort to reach this level of compensation and with an eye on the box office receipts, because after all the younger market supplies most of the profits, the source material gets ruined either by excessive use of CGI or excessive use of scene jumping in an effort to avoid teen mental stagnation!
Perhaps a return to Daid Lean type straight forward story telling is the way forward. - Thanks Rick, I really enjoyed reading those reviews especially the Avatar one. I'm off to see it this coming Wednesday weather permitting.
I went to see Dorian Gray with the girls a while back.We were looking forward to it as we are all big fans of the book and I have always loved Oscar Wilde myself. I remember getting his Fairy Tales book as a child and reading The Happy Prince and absolutely loving its magic. I still have it and read it to the girls when they were younger. We were all very disappointed with this film, it didn't live up to our expectations at all. We loved Ben Barnes though!!!
Take your point about The Proposal but a girl has to have her quota of chick flick lol! - Have been to see the new Sherlock Homes recently with Robert Downy Jr and Judd Law, have to say well worth an evening out to see it.
- Ah! The Avatar experience in 3D...... Awesome! A must see for everyone, the special effects are Fantastique, get out there and see it.
Also saw It's Complicated which starred my fave actress Meryl Streep alongside Alec Baldwin, a really good movie with lots and lots of laughs, a must for all us wimmin out there. - Avatar is still causing a huge buzz out there and the IMAX theatre in London was THE place to see it! What an amazing experience! Well worth the trip. I'll be willing to bet a fiver that people will still be heading out to see this in cinemas even after it has been released on DVD.
- I must say I am amazed that Avatar won Best Movie (Drama) at the Golden Globes awards. Okay it is a great movie but it's a great special effects movie and that's about it. I cannot believe that it beat the Hurt Locker, which has much tighter, gripping tension and realistic drama. I suppose Hollywood loves money and Avatar, now the second biggest earner after Titanic, will be lavished with awards simply because of its financial success rather than its artistic merits.
- Rick we were out at dinner the other night and all discussing your film reviews, so although its perhaps a bit slow on the responses here from Members or from Jo Public, its certainly a very good corner if people want to know about movies. All were discussing Avatar, your take on James Cameron and so on. I heard the news re The Golden Globes this morning so quite exciting. As you say, and indeed as they said on R4 this morning, its destined to be the highest earner of all time, and Hollywood likes a profit most of all. I havent seen it myself but quite a few in the immediate entourage have gone to it...so its creating quite a buzz.
I wonder when they say the highest earner of all time...is that just a straightforward cash calculation...did it really take more than Ben Hur and Gone With the Wind in real terms( allowing for inflation)? - the highest earners are those that do not normally need too much command of the english language.
our homegrown films are usually great winners of awards in the states but do not translate for worldwide audiences.
anything with people jumping out planes, setting off explosives or having great special effects will always earn more than a mike leigh work of genius.
hollywood understands this and operates towards that end. - Righ now running on Film Four is a real candidate for the worst film of all time. Its some sort of Anglo-Spanish thing called Captain Scarlett. Nobody at all in their right mind would sit and watch it. The filming is awful, the acting is awful, the colours are awful. If I took a basic camcorder out onto Dover Seafront I would be at this level of filming in half an hour, even though Ive never used a camcorder. The likeable Richard Greene is in it...but alas sadly for him he never found a real role outside of Robin Hood and his career sunk like the Titanic.
Film Four are a very disappointing channel all round though. - i always get confused over my childhood heroes robin hood and william tell.
i always hoped that the sheriff of nottingham would finally get robin before he started swinging from chandeliers, kicking everybody.
landburgher gessler always seemed to be eating a chicken, when he screamed out his only line "seize him"!!!!. - Speaking of Robin Hood, any of you guys looking forward to the new Russel Crowe version due to hit this year?
- the tarantino film "inglorious basterds" got a bit of a hammering on here, but i read today that it won a top award across the pond at a major awards shindig.
has anyone here seen it yet?
- Christoph Waltz has done well from Inglorious - his performance was outstanding. A real work of acting genius. But one great performance doesn't make a great film. And don't forget that awards are not always an indication of a great film, at the end of the day people will always love or hate any given movie, including award-givers. Inglorious Basterds has a large number of poor reviews as well as many great ones, but I'm afraid that I just wasn't that impressed with it.
- I remember Rick did a review..I think so anyway if Im remembering right, of the new Wicker Man on doverforum here a while back. It was on at 10pm last night on Channel FIVE and anything at all on TV is very welcome these days. Many agree as have been reading that thread on the forum...there is nothing on. So as this movie had been discussed I was quite thrilled to have a look at it.
This of course is the new Wicker Man with Nicholas Cage and not the the original one with Edward Woodward. The whole setting was transferered from an obscure Scotish island to an obscure American one. Cage was called Edward in the movie and the missing young girl was called Woodward...so that probably was a direct homage to Edward Woodward in the original...although I cant be certain.
I quite liked this film but as it was yet another remake, it didnt quite measure up to the original which had more light and shade and a greater depth to it, but as we are all on spartan foddder on TV these days I tucked into it with some relish...but this post acknowledges that I was probably more glad of having something to watch than anything, so its probably more that, than a true appraisal of the film itself.
At least I watched this one to the end and enjoyed it well enough. Not so with the Planet of the Apes remake which I couldnt stick. Like that woman in Wicker...Molly Parker. I would submit meself to her anytime but only of course after she fed me with drink all night! Ye cant give in too easily! - Wow! Rick not sure how you managed to get hold of all those posters..amazing collection!
Yes Ive seen the Edge of Darkness advertised on TV in the past week and straight away I wondered if it was the old TV series and you have confirmed it there. That old series was very popular and had a great haunting guitar theme played by Eric Clapton. it starred a guy called Bob Peck...now Im remembering all this off the top of my head so hopefully its accurate. But the series did attract a lot of attention, not least because of the music, and Bob Peck had a nice line in mangled raincoats!
Am amazed to see it regurgitate into a vehicle for Mel Gibson who I can never seem to warm to. It was all downhill from Mad Max . - Rick great reviews, thanks.
I am so glad you reviewed 'The book of Eli'. I very nearly went to see it at the cinema (Not often I go there) I am quite a fan of the post-apocalyptic genre, even enjoying some of the many duds that have been produced, but I too refuse to be 'preached' to by a film maker.
I think it should be classed as propaganda.
As you say this film should have 'advertisement' plastered all over it!
I also remember the TV series 'edge of darkness' so will look forward to seeing this film, but think I will wait to watch it at home.
The movie poster finds. Brilliant!
Absolutely mind boggling what the artists were thinking at the time, lol.
Either that or some very strange form of censorship! - I'm glad I was able to save someone from the Bible-peddling Book fo Eli. I have nothing against movies with a Christian message and in fact I even like a fair few of them. But this isn't even buried in the subtext - it is blatant salesmanship of the bloody thing!
- I wonder if the Ricky Gervais Hollywood career will be short lived. A brief flickering star on the fame horizon. By most accounts his banter at the Goldon Globes didnt go down well with the audience. He isnt one of them and boy do they know it! They dont mind having their leg pulled by their own, but not by a 'johnny come lately' from England who is hardly fully established.
On the face of it The Invention of Lying should be good, I havent seen it but will as ever rely on Rick's Review above, but yes if it was a BBC thing I bet it would have been a winner..or at least more likely to have been a winner. - Very interesting reviews there Rick, I read The Time Traveler's Wife and must say I really enjoyed the book but it seems from reading the above, like a lot of movies, they sometimes just don't live up to the book!
I will be going to see Alice in Wonderland next week and I'm really looking forward to it and also some chick flick movies, Valentines Day and Leap Year, you know how us girlies love a real good chick flick! - Colette I'm not 100% sure if I will be watching Alice in Wonderland - not my cuppa tea - so if you get a moment then please do post what you thought of it!!!
- surely someone has a viewpoint on the oscars!!!
i thought this would be very busy on monday. - I have Howard. Oscar Wilde was a great, witty writer, and Oscar Peterson is one of the all time great jazz pianist`s.
- Very interesting one there Rick about Shutter Island, I saw an advert for this very one on the television last night. Couldnt figure out who the lead guy was in the ad for a minute or two and then I twigged that I was looking at Leonardo DiCaprio, the matured version. I wasnt sure if this guy, previously sweet as moms apple pie, would disappear but he seems very solid in this new one. Nobody sleeps on this one by the looks of it and not with Martin Scorsese as director.
- It is a terrific movie Paul, and Leonardo is great in it. I think this must be the first time I have willingly offered the guy praise. Up until now I've always regarded him as a bit of a mummy's-boy actor with teenage squeal appeal. But no, the guy has ramped up a gear for this.
- You've sold me on this one Rick, I'll take your advice and park my 'arse on a cinema seat', it looks as though he has matured as an actor and no longer the squeaky clean take home to Mom sort of guy.
- SHUTTER ISLAND
WOT A FANTASTIC FILM, WATCHED IT IN CINEMA AND ALTHOUGH IT WAS 2 HOURS 30 MINS THE TIME FLEW BY.
WAS THE MARSHALL MAD, OR WAS THIS A COMPLETE COVER UP BYU THE AUTHORITIES.
GREAT FILM, 10 0UT OF TEN
- I watched Harry Brown over the weekend, Michael Caine's latest. Similar theme to Gran Torino, an elderly man (ex Royal Marine) pushed to the edge by young thugs deciding to clean up his neighbourhood.
I thought it was better than the Eastwood film, grittier and more realistic, better ending too!
Been a bit of a surge in 'vigilente' films lately, there was Outlaw with Sean Bean not so long ago as well. I wonder why? - I was waiting with interest Rick for your review of The Ghost. There is much nudging and winking that its actually loosely based on Tony Blair. Ive seen the trailers and thought it looked to be of real interest, but of the welcome low key variety. There is a good cast too, I personally like both Brosnan and McGregor but I see you didnt like it much at all, just 2 out of 5...oh dear.
- I've also heard that this movie is shadowing the events that took place with Blair, and Brosnan has been described as the "Blair Proxy" in this movie. The film has a few merit points but not much and is nowhere near daring enough to provoke any controversy and does little to spike your interest at any time. It may appeal to some, but I just didn't see the appeal.
- Very interesting review there Rick about Robin Hood and it is just as I expected. There is a huge trend to jazz up all these subjects so that its all 'wash n go' or should that be 'rush n go' and bearing almost no relation to the original simple but very effective story. The core of what makes Robin Hood a hero is that he robs the rich to give to the poor, but as you say there above, this isnt covered. Probably considered uncool. Ive seen nothing more than the fast trailer on TV but all the battle scenes left me feeling a bit alienated and yes again thinking of Braveheart, and that was just the excerpt. Braveheart was a movie i didnt like.
We've had some odd choices playing Robin Hood..Kevin Costner leaps to mind..but oul Richard Greene was good for me, but then he was the one I grew up with. - excellent reviews from rick there.
i think winstone improves with getting older, his more recent films
tend to be better thn his older stuff. - Good stuff there Rick.
I havent seen any of above so I must go off on a tangent and have a ramble or should that be grumble about Mark Wahlberg.
A few months back we talked about him on here in one film, cant remember which one for the moment, about his one-dimensionalism in something or other. Well last night on Film FOUR he graced our screens in SHOOTER. Did anyone else see it? He confirmed for me yet again his one flat gear, no overdrive for Mark, although it must be said it was suited to the movie last night to some extent..but he has no emotional dimension and has all the performance of a wooden fencepost.
The film itself was quite good for the first hour as the story built up but once we got into the realms of the 'shoot em up exploding head' fantasy the whole thing became farcical and turned into a video game.
How come the hero is always the one who can beat, outshoot, outkill, everyone else on the planet, If the US Governemnt can train one guy like that, they can train a 1,000 others too, to be equally as competant in the same destructive areas. So in other words no matter how good you are or might be, you are always nullified by others with the same skills. This basic fact seems to get lost on Hollywood.
The film itself was so full of holes that it was plain silly in the end, but like I said very good for the first hour.
I dont know why movies have to enter into the realms of total idiotic fantasy, but maybe its an age thing, after all I suppose its aimed at a juvenile market that grew up on video games. The problem with that scenario though is that every bloody action movie is exactly the same. - Went to see the new Robin hood Saturday.
Very good enjoyable romp but as always I do get frustrated by historical innaccuracies particularly as it showed King Phillip being repulsed as he landed with nothing about the seige of Dover Castle!
By the way, whatever he says, Russell Crowe does have an Irish accent in the film!!! - BARRY:
Irish? Russell Crowe's accent may have been Irish with a touch of Welsh-Geordie-Indian-Australian, but it sure the hell wasn't Nottinghamshire!
PAULB:
Have you seen The Departed? I kid you not, Mark Whalberg is outstanding in that film. He;s shit in just about everything else though, and is attached to some utterly hopeless movies such as Max Payne, The Lovely Bones, The Happening, and of course that atrocious Planet of the Apes. When he's good he is amazing, but so far it has been only on very rare occassions. - I have to say Rick. I was underwhelmed by Avatar in 3D. I had a headache from it and kept removing the glasses to give my eyes a rest. I suspect that I would have enjoyed the film more in the normal 2d format.
I really am not interested in 3D at home either and like you I speak as someone who loves hi-def films.
It may change and perhaps this new tech will work better, leaving me without a headache but it still needs glasses and I just dont want to sit at home wearing glasses to watch tv. - At least with current tech, 3D cannot work without a filtering system of some sort (ie glasses) but who's to say that won't change? As it stands, 3D is just a novelty. It won't become a significant thing until they learn to remove the "frame" of the TV screen in order to generate an all-round imersive environment.
- Rick
Have you seen this movie or read any reviews on it. It's showing over here and would appreciate any feedback
Thanks
BROOKLYN'S FINEST Director: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes
Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke star in this gritty cop drama from the director of 'Training Day'.
Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke star in this gritty cop drama from the director of 'Training Day'.
Three doomed New York cops working in the city's most dangerous precinct are each striving to conquer their personal demons. Tango (Don Cheadle) is a dedicated officer trapped in a deep undercover assignment where he's losing his identity and being forced to implicate his best friend Caz (Wesley Snipes). Sal (Ethan Hawke) is a loyal husband struggling to provide for his growing family and tempted by the drug money seized by the department. Eddie (Richard Gere) is an unstable and depressed loner on the verge of retirement, having to mentor a rookie graduate fresh from the academy. The three are never destined to meet until an organised drug raid leads them to the same fatal crime scene. From 'Training Day' director Antoine Fuqua Brooklyn's finest also features Ellen Barkin, Shannon Kane, Lili Taylor and Will Patton.
- Hi Marek
Yes I have heard of it but not seen it. Mark Kermode gave it a lukewarm review the other day. There's a general feeling among many reviewers that it has strong performances but a lazy script which doesn't do much with those performances. It's Tomatometer is currently on 43%, worked out from averaging 127 independent reviews. Basically, it's a safe bet to call it "average". It's not on my must-see list. - Rick
Thanks for that info. If I manage to see it I'll post my opinion on it (for what it's worth). - I hope you do Marek, it's the beauty of the web that us mere mortals who pay to watch movies can now all freely comment about them instead of just the posh critics! More power to your elbow :o)
- Thanks Rick a great review. It's showing here at the moment. I will try to see it later this week with my sons aged 20 and 22 , they are fairly critical about everything in life whether it be my cooking or the latest pc game .....lol.Personally I have never been too sure about DiCaprio's acting ability....to me he lacks depth and that maturity that certain roles require but recently I watched Shutters Island and was caught up in the complexity of the film with all its twists and turns and was quite impressed by the lad..so maybe I was mistaken.
- Leonardo has definitely matured as an actor. He's shed his teen pin-up image and ever since Blood Diamond has demonstrated a genuine talent that is miles above his Titanic / Romeo and Juliet days!
- Looks an interesting one there Splice. Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley are very good indeed as actors. Have seen them in seperate films in recent times and very very good they are. I forget the name of the Polley film off the top of my head, Sean Penn was also in it, about early settlers. The one I saw with Brody was The Pianist and although tough viewing was also a fine film. A disturbing but eventually opitimistic tale of holocaust.
Last night on the TV I sat and watched Moulin Rouge for the first time. It was great, I even got a bit emotional there with all that love and romance. It was of course studio bound but gawd it was technical and I would imagine very very difficult to make. The interweaving of various musics and different scenes looks a nightmare to produce. I did some work at onetime in the theatres of the west end, during rehearsels and whathaveyou, and I can see how difficult it was to get this film right. It must have blitzed the senses on the big cinema screens.
Whether it will grace the film buff classics in years to come, like say Singing in the Rain, I dont know. Is it just one of its time? - Wife and daughter went to see Nanny McFee and the Big Bang today (7/8). They both raved about it. I raved cos all films on a Saturday morning are a pound £1 entrance each for a child and adult. The cineworld was well attended with kids dispersing to different screens. Great value with a choice of about 5 movies.
- Just watched Revolver now can anyone out there please explain it to me...lol