I'll be getting to my top 5 games a little later on, after I've written a couple of reviews. In the meantime, here's what I consider to be the best 5 films of 2009 (don't expect to see any Transformers or GI Joe here!).
5. Slumdog Millionaire
It seems like a long time ago now that Danny Boyle released his latest project to the world and blew everyone away. It was billed by some as "the feel good film of the year" but it actually contained some rather harrowing scenes. Yes it got an awful lot of hype and awards but they are largely justified. Definitely his best film since Trainspotting.
4. Up
For me, Wall E lacked a certain something. The silent opening sans humans was brilliant, but as soon as they arrived at the spaceship the film was missing that Pixar magic. This was not a problem with Up however, from the bitter sweet opening to the comedy talking dogs, the company was firing on all cylinders.
3. Avatar
James Cameron ably demonstrates that he is still able to deliver a true, high quality event movie. Yes everyone is making a big deal of the 3D and it does indeed impress, but more impressive still is the level that they have taken motion capture to, and the amount of detail put into the world of Pandora. The action is never less than entertaining too, and while some might baulk at the close to 3 hour running time, I'm of the opinion that more is better as long as it's done well.
2. (500) Days of Summer
The kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun and Zooey Deschanel star in this, funny, sad, charming and captivating romantic comedy, which is full of quirky twists. The Blu Ray is out soon and I can't wait to get hold of it and watch it again. Yes, yes, poke fun of me for liking a "girly" film if you must, and then go back to watching whatever bullshit Michael Bay happens to serve up next.
1. Inglourious Basterds
While I loved the two Kill Bill films, this is Tarantino at his best right here. Yes, even better than Pulp Fiction in my opinion. Those expecting wall to wall action may be disappointed by the long dialogue heavy scenes, but to me they were amazing. The opening scene in particular, and one that takes place in a bar about half way through the film, are so loaded with tension. The actors do an amazing job, in particular Christoph Waltz as the creepy Jew Hunter Hans Landa, who switches from English to French, German and Italian with ease. Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger were also brilliant, but I wasn't so keen on Brad Pitt. Luckily the film isn't centred around his character anywhere near as much as the trailers would have you believe. A stunning piece of work and my film of the year.
5 films to watch out for in 2010
Ponyo
Studio Ghibli's latest is sure to be just as captivating as their previous output. English voice overs delivered by Cate Blanchett, Noah Lindsey (sister of Miley) Cyrus and Matt Damon among others.
Alice in Wonderland
A combination of a classic Lewis Carroll tale, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp surely can't fail?
Clash of the Titans
Remake of the classic Ray Harryhausen stop motion laden film. Could yet turn out to be shite, but the trailer looks promising.
Iron Man 2
I thought the final act of the first Iron Man fell into comic book film cliche but other than that I really enjoyed it, so if John Favreau manages to up the ante and Don Cheadle avoids dodgy cockney accents this could be one the key films of 2010.
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
Another comic book/graphic novel adaptation - not one I've read, mind you. The involvement of Edgar Wright suggests that this could be something special though.
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Movie Watch: Summer Round Up Part 1
The summer movie season is in full flow and there are some real blockbusters being released on a weekly basis. In this article I will briefly review the big films so far, along with some of the Blu Rays that I have watched recently.
Cinema releases
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
This was reasonably entertaining whilst I was in the cinema watching it, although shortly afterwards not much sticks in the mind. It is just a so-so comic adaptation, which lacks the impact of the old X-Men trilogy largely because it is a prequel centred around an already well established character. Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool was pretty cool, but Gambit didn't really add anything and on the whole it is a pretty forgettable film.
2 out of 5.
Star Trek
JJ Abrams has done a pretty good job at rebooting the franchise for the mainstream, but for me personally it lacked the spark of the original series and some of the actions of the new crew didn't really seem in character with their old incarnations. Maybe that's the point - I can't help but get the feeling that this film isn't really meant for Star Trek fans, but rather it's engineered to attract a whole new audience.
3 out of 5.
Coraline (in 3D)
The new 3D technology really does work well and it wasn't overdone which is a danger in this sort of film. The glasses did get a little bit uncomfortable after a while of wearing them though. As for the film itself it's a gorgeously designed dark fairy tale, and is quite slow paced at times. Don't got expecting a musical extravaganza in the style of The Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride, or something as funny as a Pixar release - it's just not that sort of film (as the few people who walked out of the showing I attended half way through must have discovered).
3.5 out of 5.
Night at the Museum 2
My new issue of Total Film arrived a day before I was due to see this, with a 2 out of 5 score, so I didn't really expect much from it. I have to say though this was a really entertaining family film, with plenty to keep both kids and adults happy. Amy Adams is as gorgeous as ever (her bum really does look quite splendid in her Amelia Earhart outfit. The film does remind of the original Bill & Ted film with its famous characters from history running around and general silliness, and that's never a bad thing.
3.5 out of 5
Blu Ray releases
Taken
I had heard that this was a good action thriller from various sources, and I had some Blockbuster rental vouchers to use up while I was on holiday, so I used one of this. To be honest though, I really wasn't "Taken" with it. It starts off great, the build up to Liam Neeson's daughter getting kidnapped is extremely tense - but once that's out of the way the action gets increasingly ludicrous and I started to lose interest towards the end.
1.5 out of 5
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
Now this was absolutely fantastic - definitely the best film I've watched over the last few months. I didn't really expect it to be all that great either because I watched the first Hellboy earlier in the year and thought it was pretty average all round. The sequel though has absolutely amazing special effects, brilliantly designed creatures, a decent story and a very funny script. It is one of the best showcases for HD available - I loved it!
4.0 out of 5
City of Ember
Walden Media follow up the brilliant Bridge to Terabithia with another adaptation of a children's book. It's not quite at the same level as Terabithia because the story lacks the emotional impact of that film, but it is well worth a watch in its own right. Bill Murray puts in another solid performance, and there are cameos from Liz Smith (nana from The Royle Family) and Mackenzie Crook (Gareth from The Office).
3.5 out of 5
Zodiac
This film is incredibly long and slow paced but the fascinating subject matter nearly mitigates that. It takes place over several decades as Inspector David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr) attempt to reveal the true identity of the Zodiac serial killer. As time and other events take their toll on these two men however, it falls to cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) to try and put the pieces together and solve the crime. If you like your films to have some closure you may end up disappointed by this one. There's a great range of special features on the disc including almost two hours of interviews with the survivors and investigators of the case, and a profile of the main suspect.
3 out of 5
Burn After Reading
I am a big fan of the Coen brothers and whilst the plot of their latest film ultimately doesn't really go anywhere, that's the whole point! Frances McDormand is Linda Litzke, a gym worker who is desperate to have cosmetic surgery done in a desperate attempt to hold on to her youth. When the cleaner stumbles across a CD with what appears to be sensitive government secrets on it, she and Chad (Brad Pitt) attempt to bribe ex CIA agent Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich). Events spiral out of control from there and the CIA superior (played by J.K. Simmons, aka Jonah Jameson in the Spiderman movies) looks on nonplussed "Report back to me when it... when it makes sense" he says to the agent keeping track of the case. A much lighter and more playful film than No Country for Old Men, but still laced with the Coen's trademark darkness throughout. Great fun!
3.5 out of 5
Be Kind Rewind
I loved Eternal Sunsine of the Spotless Mind - it's one of my favourite films of the last decade, so I couldn't wait to see how Michel Gondry would follow it up. However, even I found the concept of Be Kind Rewind a little hard to grasp. Mike (Mos Def) agrees to look after Elroy Flectcher's (Danny Glover) video store while his is out of town attending a meeting about his hero, Fats Waller. His friend Jerry (Jack Black), accidentally gets himself magnetised and ends up erasing all of the tapes in the store, and to cut a long story short they end up shooting their own version of the most iconic films ever made (including Ghostbusters). The scenes where they show the "sweded" movies are the best thing about this film. I'm not really a big fan of Jack Black, I find his personality overbearing, and while I feel the same way about Jim Carrey he managed to rein it in for Eternal Sunshine. Black however is his usually annoying self in this film and as a result I couldn't really get it into it now matter how much I tried.
2.0 out of 5.
Coming Soon... Part 2 - Angels & Demons, Terminator: Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Inglorious Basterds and more Blu Ray releases.
Cinema releases
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
This was reasonably entertaining whilst I was in the cinema watching it, although shortly afterwards not much sticks in the mind. It is just a so-so comic adaptation, which lacks the impact of the old X-Men trilogy largely because it is a prequel centred around an already well established character. Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool was pretty cool, but Gambit didn't really add anything and on the whole it is a pretty forgettable film.
2 out of 5.
Star Trek
JJ Abrams has done a pretty good job at rebooting the franchise for the mainstream, but for me personally it lacked the spark of the original series and some of the actions of the new crew didn't really seem in character with their old incarnations. Maybe that's the point - I can't help but get the feeling that this film isn't really meant for Star Trek fans, but rather it's engineered to attract a whole new audience.
3 out of 5.
Coraline (in 3D)
The new 3D technology really does work well and it wasn't overdone which is a danger in this sort of film. The glasses did get a little bit uncomfortable after a while of wearing them though. As for the film itself it's a gorgeously designed dark fairy tale, and is quite slow paced at times. Don't got expecting a musical extravaganza in the style of The Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride, or something as funny as a Pixar release - it's just not that sort of film (as the few people who walked out of the showing I attended half way through must have discovered).
3.5 out of 5.
Night at the Museum 2
My new issue of Total Film arrived a day before I was due to see this, with a 2 out of 5 score, so I didn't really expect much from it. I have to say though this was a really entertaining family film, with plenty to keep both kids and adults happy. Amy Adams is as gorgeous as ever (her bum really does look quite splendid in her Amelia Earhart outfit. The film does remind of the original Bill & Ted film with its famous characters from history running around and general silliness, and that's never a bad thing.
3.5 out of 5
Blu Ray releases
Taken
I had heard that this was a good action thriller from various sources, and I had some Blockbuster rental vouchers to use up while I was on holiday, so I used one of this. To be honest though, I really wasn't "Taken" with it. It starts off great, the build up to Liam Neeson's daughter getting kidnapped is extremely tense - but once that's out of the way the action gets increasingly ludicrous and I started to lose interest towards the end.
1.5 out of 5
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
Now this was absolutely fantastic - definitely the best film I've watched over the last few months. I didn't really expect it to be all that great either because I watched the first Hellboy earlier in the year and thought it was pretty average all round. The sequel though has absolutely amazing special effects, brilliantly designed creatures, a decent story and a very funny script. It is one of the best showcases for HD available - I loved it!
4.0 out of 5
City of Ember
Walden Media follow up the brilliant Bridge to Terabithia with another adaptation of a children's book. It's not quite at the same level as Terabithia because the story lacks the emotional impact of that film, but it is well worth a watch in its own right. Bill Murray puts in another solid performance, and there are cameos from Liz Smith (nana from The Royle Family) and Mackenzie Crook (Gareth from The Office).
3.5 out of 5
Zodiac
This film is incredibly long and slow paced but the fascinating subject matter nearly mitigates that. It takes place over several decades as Inspector David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr) attempt to reveal the true identity of the Zodiac serial killer. As time and other events take their toll on these two men however, it falls to cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) to try and put the pieces together and solve the crime. If you like your films to have some closure you may end up disappointed by this one. There's a great range of special features on the disc including almost two hours of interviews with the survivors and investigators of the case, and a profile of the main suspect.
3 out of 5
Burn After Reading
I am a big fan of the Coen brothers and whilst the plot of their latest film ultimately doesn't really go anywhere, that's the whole point! Frances McDormand is Linda Litzke, a gym worker who is desperate to have cosmetic surgery done in a desperate attempt to hold on to her youth. When the cleaner stumbles across a CD with what appears to be sensitive government secrets on it, she and Chad (Brad Pitt) attempt to bribe ex CIA agent Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich). Events spiral out of control from there and the CIA superior (played by J.K. Simmons, aka Jonah Jameson in the Spiderman movies) looks on nonplussed "Report back to me when it... when it makes sense" he says to the agent keeping track of the case. A much lighter and more playful film than No Country for Old Men, but still laced with the Coen's trademark darkness throughout. Great fun!
3.5 out of 5
Be Kind Rewind
I loved Eternal Sunsine of the Spotless Mind - it's one of my favourite films of the last decade, so I couldn't wait to see how Michel Gondry would follow it up. However, even I found the concept of Be Kind Rewind a little hard to grasp. Mike (Mos Def) agrees to look after Elroy Flectcher's (Danny Glover) video store while his is out of town attending a meeting about his hero, Fats Waller. His friend Jerry (Jack Black), accidentally gets himself magnetised and ends up erasing all of the tapes in the store, and to cut a long story short they end up shooting their own version of the most iconic films ever made (including Ghostbusters). The scenes where they show the "sweded" movies are the best thing about this film. I'm not really a big fan of Jack Black, I find his personality overbearing, and while I feel the same way about Jim Carrey he managed to rein it in for Eternal Sunshine. Black however is his usually annoying self in this film and as a result I couldn't really get it into it now matter how much I tried.
2.0 out of 5.
Coming Soon... Part 2 - Angels & Demons, Terminator: Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Inglorious Basterds and more Blu Ray releases.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Movie Watch: The King of Kong - A Fistful of Quarters
Last Wednesday night I finally got a chance to watch the retro gaming documentary film, The King of Kong - A Fistful of Quarters, and it is truly a gripping insight into the world of competitive score chasing and the mentality of the people who spend hours of their daily lives honing and maintaining their skills. This movie in particular focuses on the rivalry between two Donkey Kong players and the race to be the first to score over 1 million points.
In one corner, we have Billy Mitchell, who is the closest thing that competitive gaming has to a superstar. He's been around since the early 80's. and made his name by being the first person to ever achieve the perfect game of Pac Man (eat every dot, collect every fruit, pick up every power pill and munch every single ghost on 255 mazes). In the film, he comes across as an arrogant cock who only cares about protecting his one remaining high score - no matter the cost.
In the other corner, we have Steve Wiebe, life long underachiever (yet still amazingly skilled, life just hasn't cut him a break) and all around Nice Guy. When he was made redundant and spent a period of time unemployed, he decided to purchase a Donkey Kong machine, having developed the skills necessary for the game when he was at high school. He took a look at the online score board on the Twin Galaxies web site, saw that Billy Mitchell had the top spot, and thought "I can beat that".
What follows is the tale of how Steve first beat Billy's score and submitted it by video tape, then had it taken away from him when it was discovered that the board may have been tampered with. He was told to come to FunSpot and repeat the achievement in front of a live audience. Which he did, only for a tape submitted by Billy Mitchell to be unveiled revealing an even higher score - which promptly got entered on the Twin Galaxies site as the highest score ever.
The final part of the film sees Steve attempting to get Billy to play him in a head to head match at an event that the Twin Galaxies organisation held in order to try and find new scores to be included in the forthcoming edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, only Billy refuses to turn up and take part. From everything the viewer has seen so far, it appears that the only reason he refuses to play is because he is scared to lose, but all is not as it seems. If you dig a little deeper into the background of the film, you will find that it has been edited in such a way as to portray Billy as the bad guy. It conveniently leaves out the fact that after Billy's videotaped score was accepted, it was taken town within 48 hours and then Steve was the uncontested champion for the next three years. Yes, their friendship did fall apart and Billy did indeed stop associating with Steve, but not because of the record attempt, because Steve was acquainted with a guy who calls himself Mr Awesome, a man who Billy has had several run ins with in the past.
The King of Kong is still a highly entertaining glimpse of competitive gaming but events portrayed within it should be taken with a pinch of salt. After viewing, I suggest you check up on some of the facts here.
In one corner, we have Billy Mitchell, who is the closest thing that competitive gaming has to a superstar. He's been around since the early 80's. and made his name by being the first person to ever achieve the perfect game of Pac Man (eat every dot, collect every fruit, pick up every power pill and munch every single ghost on 255 mazes). In the film, he comes across as an arrogant cock who only cares about protecting his one remaining high score - no matter the cost.
In the other corner, we have Steve Wiebe, life long underachiever (yet still amazingly skilled, life just hasn't cut him a break) and all around Nice Guy. When he was made redundant and spent a period of time unemployed, he decided to purchase a Donkey Kong machine, having developed the skills necessary for the game when he was at high school. He took a look at the online score board on the Twin Galaxies web site, saw that Billy Mitchell had the top spot, and thought "I can beat that".
What follows is the tale of how Steve first beat Billy's score and submitted it by video tape, then had it taken away from him when it was discovered that the board may have been tampered with. He was told to come to FunSpot and repeat the achievement in front of a live audience. Which he did, only for a tape submitted by Billy Mitchell to be unveiled revealing an even higher score - which promptly got entered on the Twin Galaxies site as the highest score ever.
The final part of the film sees Steve attempting to get Billy to play him in a head to head match at an event that the Twin Galaxies organisation held in order to try and find new scores to be included in the forthcoming edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, only Billy refuses to turn up and take part. From everything the viewer has seen so far, it appears that the only reason he refuses to play is because he is scared to lose, but all is not as it seems. If you dig a little deeper into the background of the film, you will find that it has been edited in such a way as to portray Billy as the bad guy. It conveniently leaves out the fact that after Billy's videotaped score was accepted, it was taken town within 48 hours and then Steve was the uncontested champion for the next three years. Yes, their friendship did fall apart and Billy did indeed stop associating with Steve, but not because of the record attempt, because Steve was acquainted with a guy who calls himself Mr Awesome, a man who Billy has had several run ins with in the past.
The King of Kong is still a highly entertaining glimpse of competitive gaming but events portrayed within it should be taken with a pinch of salt. After viewing, I suggest you check up on some of the facts here.
Overall: 7 out of 10.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
May the Force be with you?
So, I just finished watching the new Star Wars DVD's last night. The films anyway, I haven't got around to the epic documentary yet. This is approximately the 50th time I've watched them during my lifetime, but only the second time have seen the Special Editions. While I must admit I would have preferred to have the theatrical versions, or at least a choice (perhaps via seamless branching that was used on the Aliens and Terminator 2 DVD's), it certainly didn't bother me enough to boycott the set altogether.
The only change that really doesn't work is the added Jabba scene in A New Hope. This is because most of the lines during the conversation were said seconds before during Han's showdown with Greedo. Also, the line where Han refers to Jabba as a human being is a jarring giveaway that the scene isn't supposed to be there.
While I bought the set regardless of all the changes (both old ones and even more new ones), many people I know aren't getting the DVD's precisely because of them. I think LucasFilm will lose more than a few sales a result, but it's not likely to cause George Lucas to lose any sleep, as he must be rolling in Galactic credits anyway.
As for myself, I'm going to continue to enjoy the films (all five of them so far) regardless of what other people think. A lot of people have got it in for the prequels, but I really didn't think they were that bad. Granted, the acting and the script were pretty poor compared to the snappy dialogue between Han, Leia and the others, but there's still a lot to enjoy. I didn't even mind Jar Jar Binks that much (and I don't care if you have a problem with that). Personally, I'm not one to stop liking something just because it's currently the fashionable thing to do (if I did that, I wouldn't own a Gamecube, or even play games at all). I look forward to the day that the gap between my copies of Episode II and episode IV is finally filled.
The only change that really doesn't work is the added Jabba scene in A New Hope. This is because most of the lines during the conversation were said seconds before during Han's showdown with Greedo. Also, the line where Han refers to Jabba as a human being is a jarring giveaway that the scene isn't supposed to be there.
While I bought the set regardless of all the changes (both old ones and even more new ones), many people I know aren't getting the DVD's precisely because of them. I think LucasFilm will lose more than a few sales a result, but it's not likely to cause George Lucas to lose any sleep, as he must be rolling in Galactic credits anyway.
As for myself, I'm going to continue to enjoy the films (all five of them so far) regardless of what other people think. A lot of people have got it in for the prequels, but I really didn't think they were that bad. Granted, the acting and the script were pretty poor compared to the snappy dialogue between Han, Leia and the others, but there's still a lot to enjoy. I didn't even mind Jar Jar Binks that much (and I don't care if you have a problem with that). Personally, I'm not one to stop liking something just because it's currently the fashionable thing to do (if I did that, I wouldn't own a Gamecube, or even play games at all). I look forward to the day that the gap between my copies of Episode II and episode IV is finally filled.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Movie View - The Cat Returns
I thought I'd take a break from talking about games to talk about a film I watched recently instead. The Cat Returns is the latest Studio Ghibli film to get a DVD release, at least in Asia. However, this one isn't directed by Hizao Miyazaki, but a new director named Hiroyuki Morita.
The film is animated in a slightly different style to Miyazaki's works, but it is just as magical and entertaining as his films. Basically, the story is about a young girl called Haru, who is struggling to come to terms with who she is and what she wants to get out of life. On the way home from school one day, she rescues a strange black cat who is carrying a parcel. Later, the King of the Cat Kingdom tries to thank Haru by arranging her marriage to the prince, who is the cat that she saved. What follows is a funny and charming adventure in the Cat Kingdom.
It isn't as deep and meaningful as some of Ghibli's previous films (such as Princess Mononoke) but is throughly entertaining, and absolutely essential viewing if you're a cat lover. I haven't heard any news about an english version yet, but the Ghibli back catalogue are slowly appearing in the West through Disney/Buena Vista, so hopefully it won't be too long before it appears on this side of the world.
The film is animated in a slightly different style to Miyazaki's works, but it is just as magical and entertaining as his films. Basically, the story is about a young girl called Haru, who is struggling to come to terms with who she is and what she wants to get out of life. On the way home from school one day, she rescues a strange black cat who is carrying a parcel. Later, the King of the Cat Kingdom tries to thank Haru by arranging her marriage to the prince, who is the cat that she saved. What follows is a funny and charming adventure in the Cat Kingdom.
It isn't as deep and meaningful as some of Ghibli's previous films (such as Princess Mononoke) but is throughly entertaining, and absolutely essential viewing if you're a cat lover. I haven't heard any news about an english version yet, but the Ghibli back catalogue are slowly appearing in the West through Disney/Buena Vista, so hopefully it won't be too long before it appears on this side of the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
