Films #26-32 Roundup

So, due to lack of time I'm having to quickly roundup the last seven films I watched. I plan to go back and flesh out all of these reviews at some point soon, this weekend even if life were to go the same way as dreams do.

It's business time:

Film #26 - Moon (2009)
Incredibly good debut from Bowie's son, minimalist sci-fi at it's best with little more than two characters acted to near on perfection by Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey. If you haven't seen this yet, then we should probably stop talking.
9/10


Film #27 - Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Another solid comic book movie from Marvel, Chris Evans manages to pull off the patriotic hero as likable and modest while Hugo Weaving turns in a typically comic book over theatrical performance as the slightly red in the face Nazi with a plan to rule the world. One of the better Avengers build up movies, if not a little bit long.
7/10


Film #28 - Margin Call (2012)
An enjoyable film with consistently decent performances throughout and an interesting backdrop, let down by most scenes feeling overplayed and some lines just giving you the feel that the writers still think making topical references and obvious stabs every five seconds is a cool thing to do. It's not. Saved by the acting wonder that is Kevin Spacey, delivering the only authentic and grounded character to be found.
7/10


Film #29 - The Artist (2012)
Very charming and sweet film with some fine camerawork and a wonderful soundtrack. The film itself, once you get past the retro gimmick of it being silent and in black and white doesn't really have much too it while I felt that the performances were actually quite lacking. When a film goes silent, and facial expressions are all the actors have to rely on, I'm afraid the dog wins. Bonus point earned for use of Uggie The Dog.
8/10


Film #30 - Burn After Reading (2008)
Starts off strongly but soon falls into the chaos of mediocrity, the film initially showed a lot of promise with a strong cast and the Coen Brothers controlling it all from behind the cameras. However, the humour never really did anything for me and I was never really sure if I was meant to care about any of them. While not as irritating as his performance in 'Of Mice and Men', still looking for a reason to like John Malkovich.
6/10


Film #31 - Observe And Report (2009)
Seth Rogen leads a comedy about a security guard of a shopping mall trying to prove himself and get the girl of his dreams. The humour fell flat on me on near on all occasions, the cast had no chemistry and the film clinged desperately to genre cliches throughout. Seth Rogen is very enjoyable when given a supporting role, but please don't give him the spotlight as he just can't carry a movie.
4/10


Film #32 - Ghost Rider (2007)
This film is so bad, this film is just so painfully bad. It's painful because I know somewhere deep down Nicholas Cage is quite a decent actor, but once again he's given a terrible role and he attempts an absolutely dreadful accent. The script was shite, the action scenes were poorly done and the characters were just unlikable. Not to mention I sat through the overindulgent director's cut, making an already overly long bad film even longer. How did a sequel to this get the green light?
2/10

I'm still alive...I think...

Oops, it's been 10 days, it doesn't feel like it's been 10 days. Sorry about this people, I have watched some films over the past few days but just haven't had the time to write about them yet. I'll do that tonight, now I have found myself a spare and relaxing evening.

New posts incoming, including an end of month wrapup.

EDIT: Okay, just decided I'm going to do a proper review for Moon as it's bloody brilliant and then just do quick reviews for all the rest in one big wrap up post as they only range from average to pretty decent.

EDIT EDIT: No wait, I'd nearly finished my review of Moon and then Google Chrome crashed. Review lost. Ah well folks, better luck next time.

Film #25 - Enemy Of The State (1998)

Right, I'm not going to properly review this film. Partly because it doesn't deserve to be properly reviewed, partly because I want to go and watch a really good film before I go to sleep.

So then, Enemy Of The State.

Will Smith put his serious face on and tried acting again, by acting I mean he was being Will Smith again.

According to this film, politicians are corrupt and also lie. I cannot even describe how much that shocked me.

Jack Black was in it, that automatically made this film worse than it was before he appeared.

To summarise: This film is really quite bad, only not in the funny way. Just in the bad way. Please don't watch this, if you ever get tempted too watch this film tell me and I'll send you a list of 50 films you could watch instead of this film. But hey, sometimes you need to watch a bad film to help you appreciate just how good other films are.

3/10

Film #24 - Thor (2011)

Let me be honest, I'm a massive comic book film fan and as far as comic book film's go, Thor gets a lot of things right. The cast all do a fine job, the story does enough to keep you interested throughout and the action sequences both look good and appear frequently enough to keep any fan happy for the duration of the film. Chris Hemsworth stars as the God of Thunder but if we were to pick any standout acting job from this film, the award would go straight to Tom Hiddleston as his slightly twisted brother Loki.

The soundtrack was better than most you'd find associated with a superhero film while the effects used to make the city of Asgard what it is look massively impressive if not a little too plastic and unreal. The plot unfolds at a decent pace and despite being massively predictable, makes an enjoyable ride. Thor is a fun comic book film, and while it's certainly not the best, it's one of the better ones to of come out of last year.

7/10

Film #23 - Troll Hunter (2011)

Look at that poster, just look at it. This film just has one of those concepts which makes you wonder 'How has nobody else ever thought of this before!?', a found footage film about three students following a man whose secretly hired by the Norwegian government to keep the troll population controlled? Sounds like a film that should be flying off the shelves with buzz coming in from all over the place! Oh wait no, it's in Norwegian. Well there goes any chance of popularity then, as the film watching public still can't handle reading subtitles every once in a while. This is an unfortunate truth and a real shame because Troll Hunter is one of the most fun and unique films I've seen from last year.

The film admittedly begins slow focusing mainly on the three students trying to track Hans, a man they believe to be a poacher of bears. Luckily however, about half an hour in two things begin to happen that really kick this film off and help it find it's stride, these two events being the appearance of trolls and the focus on Hans as a character. While the students often seemed to be quite irritating people (as students tend to be) with their grinning and their winging, Hans' later fleshing out forms a character that both leads and owns the human side of the film coming out as an obvious highlight along with the trolls. One interview scene in a cafe in particular really shows you a more human side to a character you at first believed to be cold and bitter.

What's also very much worth noting is that for a film that cost only just around $3.5m to make, the trolls look incredibly authentic and actually blend into the film with a far easier nature than most special effects creatures you'll find in Hollywood productions. In fact, the whole film is worth watching just for the sheer spectacle of the screen conquering final Troll right at the end of the film. Troll Hunter is one of the finest B-Movies I've seen in some time while really giving Hollywood a run for it's money as far as special effects go. Get past the slow beginning and you'll find a unique, humorous and at times quite scary film that's sure to find it's way into the hearts of many over the next few years.

8/10

Film #22 - Winnie The Pooh (2011)

Note: Sorry about lack of any updates recently, been sitting a few exams recently so have naturally been using my time to revise over watching films. However, now the brief exam time is over I shall return to a more consistent pattern of film watching!

Disney, stop messing about with live action, let's all admit it doesn't really work out for you and move on. Because, instead of milking out Pirates of the Caribbeans a few more times or letting Johnny Depp and Tim Burton make a rather tame and mediocre version of Alice In Wonderland you should be focusing all of your money into making more films like this. Winnie The Pooh is a film made for children, but that doesn't mean us beyond our potty training days can't enjoy it too! Effortlessly charming, beautifully animated and clocking in at only just over an hour this is the kind of short and sweet film that'll not only hit the credits before any under 7's reach their attention span limits but also bring a smile to the face of just about anyone who gives it a go.

It's very much old school Disney at their best, not least because of the animation style (which for me is a massive improvement on the overly bright and ultimately soulless recent take on Pooh you can find a picture of here) but because of the real heart it brings back to Disney. There is no threat at any point during the film, more just a series of pleasant mini adventures with the running theme of Pooh's honey craving supported by the colourful main cast of the series. I could say all the voice cast suit wonderfully (which they do) but right now I'd prefer to focus on just how much I enjoyed John Cleese's narration. To hear the man I know so well as grumpy manager Basil Fawlty from all time great British comedy Fawlty Towers become this warm voice of bedtime stories was inspired, not only improving the film but also reinforcing Cleese's reputation as a bit of a national treasure.Also worth noting is Zooey Deschanel's work on the soundtrack, which suited the film's tone perfectly as a light and sweet piece of musical accompaniment.

Winnie The Pooh is just about everything you could ask for as far as children's films go. A warm hearted, short effort with likable characters, valuable life messages and it's a damn fine looking piece of animation to boot. If you have any young relative about to watch films with, use them as an excuse. If you don't, forget the excuse, sit yourself in front of this and for one sweet hour just enjoy that feeling of being six years old again.

9/10

Film #21 - Sherlock Series 2 (2012)

Note: For all those unaware, the general rules for the 365 in 365/366 in 366 challenge are that one full series/season of a television show may also be counted as one off the list from your film list. So occasionally, I may manage to watch a show the whole way through it's run without giving up.

When BBC's latest Sherlock adaptation turned up in 2010, I don't remember expecting all that much of it. I hadn't really heard much of it, I hadn't bothered to look up buzz about it, I can't even remember why I tuned in. I'm glad I did however, as when I did what I found was one of the best shows currently on the magic box. There are just so many things to admire about this show, first of all it's bravery. In an age where it seems every show feels the need to talk down to you and generally treat you like an idiot, Sherlock trusted you to work things out for yourself. Of course there are many moments of explanation (could any of us keep up with Sherlock's mind?), but it never feels the need to indulge itself by explaining obvious plot points.

For any of this bravery to work out you'd actually need some smart scripts, which this series luckily has plenty of. Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and Steve Thompson all appear to have an astounding talent at revamping Arthur Conan Doyle's stories to not only fit the modern world and it's technological advancements, but also making adjustments where justified to make the stories feel somewhat more legitimate. For a real good show of revamping an old and dusty classic, treat yourself to Mark Gatiss' fresh reimagining of Holmes and Watson's most popular adventure: The Hound Of The Baskervilles.

However, the greatest strength of all in my opinion is the casting, with seriously strong performances throughout making everyone else on telly feel just a bit silly in their period drama costumes. Benedict Cumberbatch is Sherlock, forget Robert Downey Jr's slapstick and flirtatious failure of an attempt, Holmes should be a cold and calculated machine and this is exactly what you get with Cumberbatch. Martin Freeman on the other hand grows on you more and more as Watson, Holme's faithful sidekick and the human heart beating at the centre of all these mysteries. The greatest treat of all this series though, was getting to know Andrew Scott's Moriarty so much better. Unhinged, unpredictable and unnerving Scott portrayed everything you want Moriarty to be and more. Given glimpses of him in both the finale of the first series and the opener of the second, it wasn't until tonight's incredible finale too it all that we finally got to truly encounter him for all that he is. In fact, if you really want too know what I'm talking about when it comes to the acting department then please skip to the final episode of Series 2 for (in a more justifiable world) award winning performances from all three main players of the cast. Trust me, Martin Freeman as Watson may just make you shed a few tears towards the end of the final act.

As for the themes present in this series, I feel like this is the writers truly gaining confidence. While the first series was introducing us to their modern day interpretations of both the characters and crimes of the Sherlock Holmes world, this series is them striding in and leaving their own big footprint of how they want it to be done. Throughout the three feature-length episodes this series, there appears to of been a theme of Sherlock's relationships with those close too him. Despite nearly always appearing to be so cold on the outside, we occasionally see these little glimmers of emotions felt for those he cares about most. His anger when he finds someone to of harmed Mrs Hudson, his moments of laughter with Watson and his sad look of realisation when Molly suggests herself to be seen as nothing by him.

Overall, this series has once again proven that the BBC, at it's best, can produce programming like no other channel in the UK can at present. With sharp writing, incredible casting and a mature treatment of it's audience Sherlock manages to stand head over shoulders above the rest of our current schedules. Watch this now, and join me in my demands that Series 3 starts next Sunday.

10/10