This afternoon I took a trip to the cinema to see The Book of Eli, the new film from the Hughes Brothers. I enjoy the work of the Hughes Brothers, but they are not always critically aclaimed film. I'm mainly talking about their last feature, From Hell, which I think was wonderfully directed, and they drew fantastic performances from Johnny Depp, Heather Graham and Ian Holm.
The Book of Eli is, yet another, post-apocalyptic film, this starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman, with eye candy supplied by Mila Kunis. Denzel plays Eli, a man who is walking across the barren desert that is post-apocalypse America, his ultimate goal being the west coast (sound like anything from my last post?). Along the way he comes into a shanty town run by Carnegie (Oldman), who controls gangs with his supply of water, making them hunt down other 'walkers', like Eli, in search for books. Carnegie lives with his blind wife and her daughter, Solara (Kunis), and operates his searches from a bar.
The apocalypse is, as with The Road, never explained. In The Road, mind, the apocalypse is barely mentioned, but in The Book Of Eli, characters mention that the apocalypse was caused by a war, and that after the war the sun left most of the world blind. This information is given as if it is a taster towards some resolution, but instead it is promptly ignored, which left me rather annoyed. Also, Carnegie is introduced as a reasonable man, but it doesn't take much prompt to turn him into the sinister antagonist. The source of his aggression is, again, never fully explained, other than his hunt for a certain book (The title may suggest who is in possession of said book).
Eli, as a character, is pretty fantastic. He's a dab hand with pistols, knifes, shotguns, and his own fists. The action sequences which involve Eli taking on more than one aggressor use violence superbly, with limbs falling off left, right and centre, but done with class, no obvious annoying slow motion. One particular scene takes place in sillhouette and is stunning. Another takes place in a bar and is jaw-droppingly enjoyable.
Mila Kunis is very frustrating in this film, her age is not given so she jumps from horny temptress to whiney teenage sidekick to bad-ass chick more than Megan Fox in a Michael Bay film. Sadly she contributes to the disappointing final act of the film. The first hour is incredibly watchable, with the aforementioned violence mixed with Denzel just being Denzel. The second hour lacks something of the first. The violence stops being hand to hand and turns to shoot outs, meaning slightly less decapitation, and there are a handful of explosions thrown in about for about 10 minutes for effect. I enjoyed the first hour for not trying too hard to make me care about the characters, it was just a fun film, but a smattering of shallow emotion gets thrown in to dilute the coolness.
Without saying too much, this is a 'twist' movie, which you may have already heard from Roger Ebert, or Empire, but if now, hear it from me...try not to get this film ruined for you. A twist is, for me, a plot point that makes you look back through the film and cock your head back and say, "Awwww yeah, that explains that", but in The Book of Eli, there is literally one line of dialogue which makes perfect sense through the revelation.
It's worth seeing, but its not worth rushing out too, unless you want to avoid the plot being ruined for you. But here's a favour for you, at the end of Knowing starring Nicholas Cage, the world ends.
I know I promised last time I restarted my blog that I would continue it every time I saw a film, and get it back up and running again...but I didn't.
So here's a retrospective view of the films I saw over Christmas and so far this year.
Sherlock Holmes
It's a Guy Ritchie film and it's good. No one has said that since 1998. But yeah. The title character is taken on by a favourite of mine, RDJ, with the handsome sidekick Watson tackled by Jude Law. And our femme fatale is Rachel McAdams.
The film is based on a Sherlock story not written by Conan Doyle, but written by the films producer, and it focuses on Holmes and Watson investigating the death and subsequent resurrection of the evil Lord Blackwood (played by Mark Strong). A string of deaths lead our loveable detective and his equally brilliant doctor friend on a quest delving into magic, machinery and midgets. Along they way, Holmes is 'reunited' with his ex-lover Irene Adler (the aforementioned McAdams), a 'world-class' criminal whom Holmes finds hard to trust.
Robert Downey Jr is fantastic in this film, so fantastic with his comic timing, and is believably the master detective of Doyle's tales. Jude Law is very easy to swallow, he jumps from Holmes' neurotic carer to his hero very comfortably, easily giving off the air of a life long companionship. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and I will openly embrace the inevitable sequel.
I did have a few qualms with Ritchie's direction. He didn't seem to know what he wanted to do. The slow motion stylised fight scenes that showed off Holmes' clear skill in hand-to-hand combat worked in some instances, but then were ignored in certain stand offs. Also, the spinning and upside-down camera shots were disorienting, and only used three or four times in the two hour presentation. And I hope the crow doesn't become a directors trademark, because it's very annoying.
Daybreakers
Daybreakers is the true definition of a 3-star film. The big-budget directorial debut of the Spierig Brothers, after their largely unseen Undead. Starring Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe, with support from Sam Neill and Claudia Karvan, Daybreakers tackles a future in which the 'vampire plague' has over taken humanity and humans are harvested (a la The Matrix) for blood.
The Spierigs had, in their hands, a fantastic concept. The idea that vampires walk the earth and work as regular joes, keeping humans under strict population control, should make for a fantastic story. Sadly, they fell short, pretty far short. The film offers far too much for 98 minutes: Corrupt businessmen, human harvesting, vampire mutation and blood shortage. It rushes along at such a brutal pace that you feel nothing for the characters. There are so many minor characters that they expect you to give a damn about but have less than 10 minutes screen time each. I've said before and I will again, I'd love to see this adapted as a television show. The Spierigs clearly have a firm grasp on what they want from their films, with a lot of violence and some fantastic CGI in Daybreakers, but they also have too many flaws. Some vamps explode into fire, some just burn from the inside out, where some pop and leave their innards all over the room and people in it. Also, there are rather flat performances from all the characters, Sam Neills sinister businessman was like watching Stephen Baldwin the Big Brother house on the big screen, Ethan Hawke was cold and lacked substance, while Willem Dafoe delivers quip after quip in a manner not disimilar to Sean Connery in The Rock.
Avatar
I'm not going to write about Avatar, for I won't stop. I shall sum it up quickly as I have learnt to do so without getting annoyed.
It is the most visually stunning film you will see until someone else does it better, but it's incredibly boring and unoriginal. It genuinelly is EXACTLY the same as Pocahontas, and many of the other ingratiation films such as Dances With Wolves and *cough* Titanic *cough*.
And one last thing....UNOBTAINIUM. SERIOUSLY?! That is such a ridiculous use of language.
The Road
Based on Cormac 'No Country For Old Men' McCarthy's post-apocalyptic tale of a Man and his Boy trekking across America whilst constantly evading cannibals.
The film adaptation, directed by John Hillcoat, stars Viggo Mortenson as The Man and Kodi Smit-McPhee as The Boy. Viggo constantly delivers in every role, and is comfortably one of the greatest actors around today.
The film is a stark and emotional journey, which takes the novel almost as a screenplay, but adds in flashbacks of the years slightly before the unexplained apocaplypse. The cinematography is fantastic, taking advantage of Pennsylvanias bleak landscapes, and post-Katrina New Orleans for its grey pallette.
I'd always recommend reading the book before the film in most cases, with the exception of a few on this list: http://www.cracked.com/article_15694_8-kick-ass-movies-you-didnt-know-were-based-books.html
Up In The Air
I'm going to say now that I love everything Jason Reitman has done, Thank You for Smoking, Juno and now Up In The Air. The latter and most recent is the newest film that probably deserves to sweep up at the Oscars, but, judging by it's Golden Globes perfomance, may not.
It stars former Oscar winner George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a middle aged 'corporate downsizer'/'insolvency practitioner'/'absolute bastard if you're on the receiving end' who spends the majority of his life in the air, travelling from city to city to fire company employees when the company can't do it themselves. With support from the sublime Vera Farmiga and annoyingly good Anna Kendrick, the former as a fellow air traveller, and the latter as the woman who could cost Ryan his job. After striking up an erratic romance with Vera Farmiga's Alex, and being forced to babysit the young and potentially job threatening Natalie (Kendrick), Ryan begins to question his life up in the air.
This film is absolutely fantastic. I, for one, adored it. Every performance is absolutely phenomenal, from the leads, Clooney, Farmiga and Kendrick; to the short and superb support from Jason Bateman, Zach Galifianakis and J.K.Simmons. The story floats along at a perfect pace, with the comedy scattered in places that would falter a lesser rom-com.
Here, for those who care, is my rough top 10 of the year, and a wee bit about them
1) Moon
For a debut, and in the genre of science fiction, Duncan 'Zooey Bowie' Jones crafted an absolute masterpiece. The film was written for Sam Rockwell, and he gives nothing but a fantastic performance that had me in awe for the whole film. A beautifully fresh, yet not noticeably unoriginal, science fiction film.
2) The Hurt Locker
Kathryn Bigelows movie gives a shockingly stark view of modern warfare. Jeremy Renner's Sgt James is a fantastically arrogant man with guts to boot, a perfect character. Several fantastic scenes with magnificent cinematography all round.
3) Star Trek
I'm going to start by saying I don't like Star Trek. But J J Abrams reboot is well worth its salt. Chris Pine's Kirk is hilarious. And that opening scene has me blubbing every time I watch it.
4) Drag Me To Hell
Sam Raimi tearing it up when returning to horror. One of the few films I paid to see more than once at the cinema this year, due to the intense grip of it's atmospheric horror. Some laughs, plenty screams. Everything you could ever want in a horror.
5) Up!
Do I really have to explain this? Heartwarming, and Pixar's masterpiece (in my opinion)
6) Watchmen
The comic book movie to end all comic book movies. I'm talking specifically of the Ultimate cut, with everything from the amazingly crafted graphic novel adaptation in all of it's glory. Some slightly wooden acting, but barely noticeable behind Patrick Wilson and Jackie Earl Haley's amazing performances.
7) In The Loop
Malcolm Tucker: "Climbing the mountain of conflict"? You sounded like a Nazi Julie Andrews!
Malcolm Tucker: Does that not fit within your purview, Marie Antoinette? Why don't you just scuttle off back to fucking Cranford and play around with your tea and your cakes and your fucking horse cocks. Let them eat cock!
Nuff said.
8) District 9
I'm so glad that this wasn't the Halo movie. Sharlto Copley makes this film, and one of the characters of the year, in Wikus, the loveable South African council worker, forced to deal with alien relocation, and transformation. Such an amazing debut feature from Neill Blomkamp, look forward to seeing his work in the future.
9) A Serious Man
The Coen brothers have the opportunity to make any film they want, so they make a 'not autobiographical, promise' film about a Jewish community, and particularly one man's involvement in it all. Michael Stuhlbarg plays the amazing Larry Gopnik, who never seems to be able to finish a sentence. Perfectly crafted film about fate, karma, and all that jazz!
10) Zombieland
There was a toss-up for spot number ten, with Inglorious Basterds, Fantastic Mr Fox and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. And a few others. But Zombieland made it from it's ability to bring me a stupendously awesome zombie movie, which I always crave!
Honorable mentions to Christoph Waltz for Hans Landa, the Jew Hunter. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt's dancing. And Rush, for their contributions to I Love You, Man.
Before I start, I'd like to point out that I loved Juno. I watched it about 8 times in a week, once. It is hilarious, mostly due to Diablo Cody's ability to write snappy dialogue full of portmanteau words from the top of her head, and Ellen Page's ability to deliver them.
When I heard that Diablo Cody was writing a horror movie, and it would star Megan Fox (who's so hot right now...in both ways) I got a little excited. I envisaged a movie as sharp as Juno but those sharp words stabbing teenagers in the face/guts, and repeatedly.
What I got when I saw Jennifers Body was a movie as sharp as Juno but those sharp words stabbing teenagers in the face/guts, and repeatedly. Turns out it just makes for a worse movie than my head imagined.
Starring Amanda Seyfried, fresh from Abba butchering, as Needy, the ying to Jennifer's (Fox) yang. They are a pair of BFF's, they even have necklaces saying so, that attend school together but lead very different lives. Jennifer is a temptress who sleeps with a police cadet and pretty much anyone else, while Needy is a quiet nerdy girl with a quiet nerdy boyfriend Chip.
The film creates it's eponymous antagonist when she is put under a curse turning her into a maneater. Literally. After spooking Needy with her visceral vomiting, Jennifer freaks out the whole community of Devil's Kettle by leaving a string of half chewed bodies, making national news broadcast a cannibal is the loose, all the while a band that played the night Jennifer got cursed get slowly more famous (no prizes for guessing what happened there).
In fact, the statement in my last paranthesis applies to the whole movie. The plot is incredibly predictable, and the opening sequenuintaiteuins the last 20 minutes of the movie by showing you the fate of certain characters. There are some decent punches of dialogue, but I felt Diablo Cody had blown her load halfway through the movie and the Codyisms stop, or at least just stop being noticable.
I'd like to congratulate Diablo for her taste in music, with a Gallows poster adorning Jennifers wall, and Chip being obsessed with Motion City Soundtrack, but neither of the bands make it onto the soundtrack. Instead a mix of Florence and the Machine, and the fictional band Devils Shoulders signature American alt rock track filter out all respect I had in Diablos taste. I'm glad Diablo didn't leap on the chance to have Megan Fox dancing sexily to Nelly Furtado's 'Maneater'
though.
I'd not say Jennifers Body isn't worth seeing. I mean, it's not
Lesbian Vampire Killers, it's still a relatively decent horror movie,
and has some steamy lesbian scenes to keep people interested, and
plenty giggles. It's just not Juno meets Halloween as I hoped.
Here is a quote from Wikipedia: "it grossed more than $60.8 million in 17 days, surpassing the Dawn of the Dead remake to become the top-grossing zombie film in history". Nuff said? Maybe not.
I went to see Zombieland, honestly expecting a dull Shaun of the Dead rip-off, considering the blurb for the movie itself says the writers, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, were inspired to write the movie by Shaun of the Dead itself. What I got was a hilarious and frankly original zombie movie, which comfortably contends for my film of the year.
Zombieland stars Woody Harrelson and Jesse "I'm not Andy Samburg or Michael Cera, honest" Eisenberg, and tells the story of a road trip across America, aiming for Columbus' (Eisenberg) hometown. Along the way, Columbus and Talahassee (Harrelson) meet Wichita and Little Rock (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) in several locations, usually ending in the gentlemen being mugged. If you're wondering about the names, all characters are named after their home towns, they don't share first names in order to not care about each other.
The film has some fantastic ideas to put forward, my favourite being Talahassee's enjoyment in killing zombies, and also (as seen in the trailer) 'Zombie Kill of the Week'. It is a fantastic zombie movie, containing some incredible gore. Columbus' use of rules for surviving the zombie apocalypse are not overused, and you often forget them until the typical indie 'freezeframe with writing on the screen' is used.
Also, the amazing uncredited cameo doesn't quite make the movie, but it certainly adds interest to the slowest segment of film. There are also a lot of remarkabley guessable twists, and the ending is predictable. But on the other, larger, hand, there are plenty laughs, more than your average comedy at the moment.
This morning I watched Memories of Murder, a 2003 drama (dramedy in parts) about the murders of several young girls in South Korea. Directed by Bong Joon-Ho, better known for 2006's The Host, it is based on the true events of a spate of 10 similar murders in the late 1980's.
Firstly, I should point out I was directed towards this film by Edgar Wright, and as he described it as "criminally unseen", I felt I should check it out.
It stars Joon-Ho regular Song Kang-Ho, whom you may recognise as the father in The Host, or as a vampire in Park Chan-wook's Thirst. Kang-Ho absolutely commands the screen, putting in an unforgettable performance, going as far as including a fantastic drop-kick. The support cast is also phenomenal. Kim Sang-Kyung is excellent as the cold Detective Seo, and Kim Roe-ha gives an attention grabbing performance as the aggresive Detective Cho.
I can also not talk about this film without mentioning the cinematography. It is filled with stunning, silent long shots of the paddys, which are the site for some of the murders. There are lots of haunting shots of the detectives from afar, implanting a fear that the killer is constantly one step ahead, and almost definitely still on the prowl. One particularly memorable scene follows a girl walking along an overgrown path, with shots from all angles, providing instant paranoia. Another scene that spring to mind include a shocking violent outburst in a restaurant, which left me with my mouth gaping.
This is, without a doubt, an absolute masterpiece. I am shocked at myself for not instantly looking for it after seeing The Host, as I also love that film. Everything about Memories of Murder is fantastic, and it has rather fantastically smashed it's way into my favourite films of all time.
So I'm back...my *cough* hectic lifestyle has prevented me from blogging.
Also all ive watched for about two months has been Battlestar Galactica.
3D is back and it's no longer red and blue. It's now grey and blurry. And fantastic!
Monsters vs aliens is the first film I've seen in tru3D and it won't be the last. And I won't just ban obaviyt the 3D because it's an awesome film to boot. It's a cgi comedy about a team of imprisoned monsters who are called upon to defend earth against an alien threat. Among them are a blue brainless blob named Bob (Seth Rogan), a mutated cockroach genius (Hugh Laurie) and a 50-foot woman (Reece Witherspoon). The 5 monsters together bounce off each other excellently and constantly provide laughs. Backed up by a dimwit president and cliché army general, belly laughs come from all the characters quick and often. And unlike many childrens cgi movies (excluding pixar) it's not thin on adult material. It's nature being based on classic horror monsters means referential puns and set pieces provide a platform for adult enjoyment, as well as a few tit jokes. There's no cheesy love story, in fact it's very 'bros before hos' in it's morals.
I would recommend it to everyone, especially in 3D (there is nothig more satisfying than seeing a cinema full of people dodge a meteor), although there aren't many sequences that require 3D enhancement but it's alot of fun and worth the extra pound!
