Film 25 - Non-Stop

Non-Stop - 28/02/2014

Taken on a Plane, is the title Clare and I had given this for weeks.

Liam Neeson, continuing the geriatric action hero status, is an Air Marshall aboard a TransAtlantic flight to London when he receives a text message on his secure phone stating that a passenger will die in 20 minutes if $150,000,000 is not received in a given bank account.  With no support and a few excellent twists, our OAH (Old Age Hero) is thought to be holding the plane hostage, is he? is he not?

Non-Stop's first hour our so could have been a Hitchcock Thriller, brilliantly executed and everyone is a suspect...even the little 8 year old girl was getting suspicious looks from me.  The ending is nicely action packed as well, although it does stretch the plausibility a little.

Both Clare and I came out of the cinema very satisfied that we had watched a very enjoyable film that was "non stop" and got us interested from the start.

I thought the trailer had pretty much given away the entire film and, as we had seen it before every film this month, we did not hold high hope for it.  So we were pleasantly surprised.

After the film we both wondered if it was the best film to watch the day before we fly to Prague, believe me, we will be watching EVERYONE on that flight!

Film 24 - The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie - 22/02/2014

Pure Genius!

***** Spoiler Alert! *****

Lord Business steals the Kragle from Vetruvius in order to destroy the universe. Vitruvius tells of "The Prophecy of the Chosen One" who will put an end to Lord Business and his evil scheme.  Cut to 8 and a half years later, President (Lord) Business is ruling the world by controlling the plans, TV and Radio. This is were we meet our main star, Emmet, who accidentally stumbles across the "Resistance Piece" and is proclaimed to be the Chosen One by a group of Master Builders

This is the plot in a nutshell.  It may sound formulaic but there is a good reason why, and that is for you to find out at the end of the film.

There are some tedious bits to the film, but they are quickly kaiboshed with pure comedy moments portrayed by little bits of plastic

The "Bat-Jokes" are hilarious, the film references are abundant and the secondary characters as funny as the rest.  Benny the 80's Spaceman is stand out hilarious and the creators have even got the snapped plastic helmet right, in the same place as all my lego helmets as a child

Obviously, when Solo, Chewie, Lando, C3p0 and the Falcon turned up (told you, spoiler) I was complete - this film could do no wrong from here on in

I have seen a few films aimed at a younger audience recently and they just keep getting better and better.  Wreck It Ralph, How to Train Your Dragon and Despicable Me (and 2) and stand out films that deserve a mention, and for me, Lego Movie is worthy of joining that list.

Great fun to be had, and the soundtrack is AWESOME!

Just great fun and very, very funny in parts

Film 23 - The Monuments Men

The Monuments Men - 2102/2014

When Danny Ocean is called to regain art and antiquities stolen by Hitler for his Fuehrer Museum, he recruits a band of experts to help.  Joined by Matt Damon playing Matt Damon, Bill Murray as Peter Venkman, John Goodman, an atypical french guy, an Englishman and our next door neighbour Bill (honestly, I thought it was him at the start of the film), the platoon travel around Europe rescuing art from Ze Germans and returning it to the rightful owners.

This film is based on a book which in turn is based on a true story.

It was an interesting film idea as I didn't know about the "Monuments Men" from WWII and I think parts of it worked.  Bill Murray always makes me laugh, and John Goodman is a legend.  The Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett parts of the film are dull and boring and could just not be there.

Both Clare and I thought we had seen the trailer far too many times over the last few weeks and it took the shine off the film.  It is an enjoyable romp, but it is not a spectacular film.

Film 22 - Her

Her - 16/02/2014

Clare, Cousin Paula and I went to watch Spike Jonze's new film "Her" and I was quite surprised to see so many people filling the seats of the cinema.  In front of us sat two twenty somethings who I will refer to later.

Her is set in an undisclosed future in which social media, instant messaging, email alerts etc are instant via a little ear piece and a well spoken gentlemen reading them and acting on your commands, for example. read, reply, file for later, delete.

When a new operating system is released ran with artificial intelligence, Theodore (Joaquin Pheonix) decides to upgrade.  Once installed, the OS calls itself "Samantha" and is very sexily voiced by Scarlett Johansson.  Theodore starts to become obsessed with Samantha and vice versa.  Soon, he is laughing and joking with her/it and developing a strong, loving relationship.

Her is a real though provoking film that is really not that far away from being a reality.  The two twenty somethings sat in front of us seemed to lose interest in the film so decided to play on Facebook on their phones for the remainder.  Quite ironic we thought.

Her, for me, was identifying peoples inability to actually communicate face to face and how reliant we have become on our digital persona.  All the characters in the film (extras and all) walked around the streets and traveled on trains without making eye contact, all of them engrossed in their mobile devices or talking to their digital media.

How you take the Operating System's intent as well is open to interpretation, Cousin Paula said that the OS seemed to eventually connect people as they needed to talk to humans again once the OS upgraded (trying not to spoil anything).  Were as I could not help but think of Skynet, becoming self aware, sentient.  Clare got a real sense of addiction from Theodore, he craved speaking to Samantha and became very obsessed.

An interesting film which all three of us enjoyed in our own way, there are some really (and I mean really) awkward scenes that make you squirm in your seat.  I don't think I will see another film like this as it is quite unique.

Get off Facebook! :-)

Film 21 - Cuban Fury

Cuban Fury - 14/02/2014

Complete and utter harmless fun.

Clare and I went watching Cuban Fury as a little nod to Valentines Day, a date night.  I was not expecting a ground breaking film, a cinematic masterpiece.  Cuban Fury is a completely harmless and enjoyable film.

The plot is predictable, as is with all rom-com's, but it is the characters that make it.  Nick Frost is genuine and funny, Chris O'Dowd is self obsessed and egotistical and Rashida Jones is a Plain Jane, love interest for the two men.  The stand out though is Kayvan Novak, every scene he is in the audience was brilliant.  

Bruce Garrett (Nick Frost), a childhood salsa dancing star, has his hopes and dreams shattered by a group of bullies on the way to a dance competition.  He swears never to salsa again.  When a new boss starts at his work and has a passion for salsa dancing, Bruce decides to take up salsa once more to win her heart.  It may have just been my male brain, but it seemed as though Julia (the new boss) actually had feelings towards Bruce before she knew about the salsa and he didn't really need to go through all the pain, but that wouldn't have made an interesting film.  Guy meets Girl, Girl likes Guy, the end.

I have a couple of friends who are really into their dancing at the moment who I know would enjoy this film.  I have recommended it and would be interested to know what they thought (may even put his comments on here)

Cuban Fury, as I mentioned, is an easy watch with a few giggles along the way, a nice little cameo that gets a chortle and Kayvan Novak stealing the show. "Rubber Dingy Rapids, Bro!"  

An enjoyable date night film

Film 20 - Robocop

Robocop - 13/02/2014

I remember watching the 1987 version of Robocop in the front room at my Nanna's house with my brother and cousins at a very early age.  My brother had acquired a VHS copy of the film and we watched in amazement as blood and guts spilled everywhere, Clarence Bodicker and Dick Jones as great bad guys, and the satire going completely over my head.  I also remember going into primary school that week repeating the lines, "Dead or Alive, you're coming with me", or "I'd buy that for a dollar!", and thanking my mum for her "Co-operation".

Paul Verhoevan must be loving having his films of the 80's remade, recently "Total Recall" was given this treatment and ruined by taking the original idea, disregarding it and then taking all the fun out of it.  So I was not at all surprised when "Robocop" was announced to be having a re-imagining, what I was surprised about was the 12 certificate it had received.   

I, however, decided to try to watch this remake without any preconceptions or comparisons and try to watch this as an original.  Luckily, I had Clare with me who has never seen the 1987 version, so I had a true perspective as well.

Alex Murphy, a good, strong and moral cop is severely injured in an explosion as he gets close to a large crime syndicate boss and is fused with a machine to both create a new era of policing and to encourage the american public to warm to the idea of a robotic presence on the streets (a concept that has been added to most countries in the world to some degree of success and a massive decrease in human loss of life).  

Omnicorp boss, Sellars (Michael Keaton) is looking to counter the Dreyfus Act by giving a robot human qualities to avoid emotionless machines patrolling the streets.  

This is where the film got really boring.  How can a film about a robot fused with a cop be boring?

I am a big believer that if you make an action film with shiny things, explosions and eye candy you must be on to a winner.  Robocop has all three, but it is just boring.

Alex Murphy is boring, the bad guys are boring, the story is boring, the whole 2 and a bit hours are just dull and boring.  It is quite impressive that a concept such as this could be made so boring.

If you want to see Robocop, go dust off that old VHS copy you have, or dig out the DVD version you bought out of nostalgia, just don't have it ruined by this version.

Looking forward to the remake of Starship Troopers!!!

Film 19 - Inside Llewyn Davis

Inside Llewyn Davis - 09/02/2014

..or Inside Llewelyn Bowen as Clare once called it...

I am a big fan of Fargo and The Big Lebowski, and I like O Brother, so half knew what to expect from a Coen Brothers film.  Inside LD is nothing like the aforementioned films, in fact, it is quite hard to say what it is like.

LD is a folk singer that used to be part of a double act, but his partner threw himself off the wrong bridge.  With no fixed address, no money and an agent that really struggles with his files, LD is down on his luck.  The film opens with a full rendition of "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me", which for me was just fantastic, and engaging.  The film then drifted with no apparent reason or point, including a car trip with John Goodman for 20 mins until the final scene were a famous folk singer of the early 1960's performs at the Gaslight.

Joel Coen has been quoted, "The film doesn't really have a plot.  That concerned us at one point, that's why we threw the cat in".  I am a little ailurophobic (fear of cats) so one point were the cat is left with John Goodman didn't upset me as much as some cat lovers on the internet

I think I really enjoyed the film, I found Oscar Isaac's character horrible yet endearing.  I say "Think" because I am not entirely sure if I did like it.  I came out of the cinema with love for the film, but apart from the music (which is already in my spotify playlist) nothing really much happened...at all.

Hey, Mr Kennedy, the four jumpers and Llewyn's Agency are hilarious moments that stand out

This has been one of the hardest reviews to write

Film 18 - Dallas Buyers Club

Dallas Buyers Club - 08/02/14

Clare had been looking forward to this one as she was impressed with the trailer and also a big fan of Matthew McConaughey's pecks.  

Ronald Woodroof, a sex, drugs, drink and rodeo addict is diagnosed with HIV to which he is given 30 days left to live.  After finding that an experimental drug (AZT) he is stealing from the hospital, which is the only "cure" for HIV in America at the time passed by the FDA.  When he finds out that this experimental drug is actually worsening the condition he seeks alternative solutions from Mexico and a discredited doctor.

Smuggling the protein based drugs and alternatives into America and offering a membership for free drug prescriptions, he creates "The Dallas Buyers Club" with the help of another HIV sufferer, Rayon (Jared Letto).

Both McConaughey and Letto lost so much weight for this role and looked completely haggered and drawn, and put their heart and soul into the performance.  As interesting as most parts are, there seemed some very slow and dull parts that changed the impact of the film.

Letto's performance was excellent and Jeniffer Garner was as "good" as she normally is.

DBC was ok to watch, but not one I would revisit, there are definitely better out there.

Film 17 - I, Frankenstein (3D)

I, Frankenstein (3D)

With cousin Simon over from Oz and Clare not fancying this film,  we had a cousins date night. 

I, Frankenstein picks up directly after Mary Shelly's novel with Victor Frankenstein's creation burying his newly deceased master only to be attacked by what can only be described as cast offs from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.   Now don't get me wrong,  I am a huge fan of said TV show and think practical effects are far better than CG but they looked comedic.   On defending himself against the rubbery demons,  Frankenstein's monster becomes caught up in a secret battle between demon and gargoyle.

A couple of things didn't work for me with this film (excluding the story and some really bad acting).  With the underworld series the Lycan and Vampire fued made sense and worked in a modern environment. I, Frankie's world didn't seem to have the same flair or style.   Also, why did all the characters at some point in time (including the main character) refer to Frankenstein's creation as "Frankenstein". It is clearly incorrect! 

You Frankenstein,  me let down 

Film 16 - Lone Survivor

Lone Survivor - 02/02/2014

After a great night at the 25th Bent and Bong's Beerfest, I didn't fancy a film that needed too much thought, so opted for Lone Survivor.  

This film should have a colon in the title followed by the words "This title contains spoilers".

Mark Whalberg and his team are sent on a routine seek and destroy in Afghanistan which is troubled with communication issues.  What ensues is 90 mins of an adrenaline and tension filled, hunted and gunned down film.  Unfortunately, the team of four, a band of brothers, are systematically beaten, bruised, battered and shot many many times leading to the titular Lone Survivor.  Nothing is hidden in this film, you feel every bump and bone breaking moment.  Every bullet that hits the target is felt by the viewer. 

The characterisation is done well at the start of the film that you actually care about the central four characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film and it was the perfect antidote to a few too many beers the night before

Although, intended to be moving, I think the slideshow at the end could have been an optional extra on the blu-ray release

Film 15: Jack Ryan: Shadow Agent

Jack Ryan: Shadow Agent - 01/02/2014

Jack Ryan, who is Jack Ryan?

Originally played by Alec Baldwin, then perfectly by Harrison Ford, then in a terrible film by Ben Affleck, and now in a new era by Chris Pine.

Based on the character designed by Tom Clancy, Jack Ryan is a Cold War CIA Agent.  I have read a couple of these books, but mainly relate to Harrison's portrayal (same as Morgan Freeman's portrayal as Alex Cross).

Shadow Agent is a film that seems to build to one major moment, which was, I must admit, very good indeed.  Shame about the other 95 mins!

After just finishing Season 7 of 24 with Clare, we decided to postpone this a day as watching it after that would just not compare.  Unfortunately, leaving it a day still didn't matter.  Shadow Recruit just didn't excite.  There is so much Tom Clancy material to use, so why should a film based on the development on his character not work....

The film didn't seemed to blast over some parts that could have been really interesting and focus on poor characters and uninteresting story lines.

It seems like film makers are searching for the next Bourne, instead of doing something else that could work.

For me there is only one Jack, and that is Mr Bauer