Garyswordz

A Big Little Film, 5 May 2008
Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom

Director and writer, Garth Jennings, previously handling the same roles in “Hitch Hikers Guide To the Galaxy” has made a wonderful, warm, quirky teenage picture which challenges yet soothes at the same time.It is a timeless tale of imagination, where as a child anything is possible and it is the adult world which is “unreal”.

Debut child actors Neil Dudgeon, as bold and brash Joshua, and Bill Milner as repressed Will Proudfoot play an “Artful Dodger/Oliver” style double hander with intelligence, wit and conviction.The central premise is simple, to enter a teenage film short continuing the “Rambo” series.

Will is stultified in a widowed household where his mother has joined a religious cult which forbids access to televisions and watches.Joshua runs free without his parents, looked after by his elder brother, but finds an emotional bond with the quixotic Will.

A sharp script, wittily observed is stronger on smiles than belly laughs but is none the weaker for it.Joshias declaration of love for his elder brother and his saving of Will from life threatening scrapes are genuinely poignant, whilst a sub plot involving a party of French exchange students provides a light counterpoint to the main story.

A classically British offering, and a little gem at that.

Irritatingly Short of Excellent., 5 May 2008

Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Few films have elicited such contradictory emotions from me.Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott have put together a visually sumptuous and exciting story. Denzil Washington delivers a strong lead performance as Agent Doug Carlin, Val Kilmer,FBI Agent Paul Pryzwarra, actually shows he can do restraint, and Claire Kuchever, as love interest Paula Patton flounces, entertains and is credible as well.

So where does it go wrong? The basis of the story, a time “envelope” allowing us to go backwards in time is fine.However the key question, “can we alter history by going back in time? ” is ultimately fudged amongst a series of gaping plot holes.

Now I am not one to go looking for trouble, and firmly believe that sometimes you should just “enjoy the ride” of the story that IS being told.But perversely one of the strengths of telling a story backwards is the power of fate, you KNOW how its going to end. This way that power is weakened because your question is “how is fate going to be distorted?” For me the “twist” doesn’t work, but that does not undermine a good yarn, well told, and brilliantly realised on screen.

The critics, and aficionados of this picture are both right. Which side of the fence you end up on is really dependent upon how convincingly the plot grabs you.Irrespective of that, a decent effort by all concerned

An Enjoyable Adult Comedy, 4 May 2008

Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom

Generally American comedy films specialise in “gross out” humour, British ones in a more subtle, wordy version. This plays largely to type but with a nice twist, with the twist being British actor Russell Brand who does both.

Producer Judd Apatow specialises in a puerile, obvious humour which was successfully exploited in Knocked Up, The 40 year old virgin,and Superbad,all of which have enjoyed considerable commercial success.Afficiandos will not be disappointed. Mens genitalia are supposed to be funny, and spoof blow job videos hilarious.Yet in this simple romp emerges a comedy which does have its moments.

Anti-hero,and writer, Jason Segel pretty much plays it straight as jilted Peter Bretter to a very pretty, but less than convincing Kristen Bell as Sarah Marshall.However the stand out turn comes from Russell Brand, almost playing himself, as Rock Star Aldous Snow. Brand offers a performance of swagger, style, panache and braggadocio which steals every scene he is in. He has all the best lines and knocks a solid supporting love interest role performance from Mila Kunis as Rachael Jansen solidly into touch.Neatly combining wild excess, with witty wordy observations,Brand romps through the role in the same way that he would through a nunnery!

Some odd editing, and clunky scene changes do not detract from some very good, and funny, set pieces, and the story stops thankfully short of any moralising.The four hander between the “foursome” at dinner is by far the stand out scene with brand coming to terms with a particularly offensive “shirt as gift” with the memorable cry “take my eyes but not my shirt” to an over eager waiter.

Not a “big screen” essential by any means,but well worth a look nonetheless.

Enjoyable, slick and intelligent., 20 April 2008

Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom

Whilst knowing broadly the story on which this film is based, I hadn’t read the book, nor am I a gambling expert. My wife, who watched it with me, has never stepped inside a casino. Despite all this lack of inside knowledge, we were both royally entertained for two hours.

The minimum of profanity, the sharpness of the script, and the lavish production values made this an unusually enjoyable tale. I can live with a bit of “bad guy” violence and the obligatory chase scene as they did add some spice to proceedings.

Jim Sturgess is a competent male lead, carrying the part of Ben Campbell well, part geek,part super -smart con man.Kate Bosworth as love interest Jill Taylor convinces as both equally smart, and drop dead gorgeous. The imperious Kevin Spacey dominates each scene in which he is in.

The film is not without its flaws, the nerdy comedy duo best friends of Ben are formula writing at its most basic, and several roles (Bens mother and the “Loss Prevention” Casino Team)are caricatures.Also, the background music at the start is mystifyingly loud and anonymous with no attempt to contemporise the story with a period soundtrack.

However, the film is well acted, pacey after an inevitably slow scene setting start, and lavish on the eye with some glamorous Las Vegas sets, and some hedonistic living.Accepting it as a story, rather than a documentary is the key to enjoying this film. Critics seem to focus on what it might have been, pleasure comes from enjoying it for what it is.

Just Plain Dreadful, 21 March 2008

Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I went to see this movie not expecting much. Some epic scenery, a few battles with animals and rival tribes, the odd heaving bosom and a frothy pop corn story. Sadly i was still disappointed.

Never can so much money, particularly on cgi and special effects have been spent to so little effect.None of the actors is worthy of a name check – although i suspect that the threadbare script found numerous first choices “busy”.

Charaecteristaion is pretty much non existent, which you can get away with if you have a rip roaring fast moving script.But this isn’t. the cinematography is quite sweeping, and the music quite “nice”. But that is about it.

Roland Emmerich fails miserably here, his greatest crime being in assuming that the people would be grunting idiots. His alack of humanity, a trade characteristic for him, undermines what few shreds of invention this film has.Two sequences, the “mammoth” hunt and the “ostrich attack” in the jungle had great dramatic possibilities, bot both ere squandered, as were the possibilities of pretty much the entire story.

A Very Fine Film, 21 March 2008

Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom

In the same way that time had to move on in order that considered films on the Vietnam War could be made, so time sometimes needs to move on to provide a perspective on those films themselves.In the early 21st century America finds itself in another hopeless adventure abroad, in Iraq, with young men killing and being killed with no-one quite sure why.With the passage of time this story assumes a depth and resonance that wasn’t possible at the time.

De Palma’s strength is in how he portrays people, and this is a veritable tour de force in this respect.Sean Penn is about the finest actor of his generation, and his Sgt Meserve is superb.Brutal and loyal, yet cruel and amoral. Just what the Army needs in a battle, but not the sort of person that the Capitol Hill aesthetes would welcome for dinner.

Michael J Fox carries the part of the effete whistle blower well, his hair is always as nicely washed and clean as his morals, yet in the crucial court martial scene, it is hard to work up any enthusiasm for his actions.Cleverly, De Palma runs two parallel belief sets here. On the one hand, kidnapping, raping and murdering farm girls is not right. Equally when you train young men to kill, and risk their lives day on day, when they see their friends killed and mutilated, when all vestiges of their home life are stripped away in an alien jungle, nobody should be too surprised that some will get up to no good.

Ultimately this is the triumph of the film. The casualties are literally everywhere.I felt as much for the convicted soldiers as I did for their victim.The chaos of the battle scenes where all you have is your buddies is well played. The loyalty, bravery, Stoicism and heroism of the doomed patrol are shown as vividly as the amorality of their actions.

A worthy synthesis of excellent battle set pieces and cerebral soul searching

Powerful, Punchy, Brave Tale., 1 March 2008

Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom

A wonderful example of how good writing and strong direction can tell a tale which stands the test of time. Director Archie Mayo enjoyed a career directing films spanning some 30 years, and 84 titles.This one was Directed 20 years in and was number 67. It shows.None of the 83 minute running time is wasted, and if some of the characters come across as caricatures,it is only in the interests of brevity and pace.

A youthful Bogart delivers a fine performance as an ordinary working man of his time seduced by the specious ideology of the Black Legion, whose ideals clearly reflect that of a Ku Klux Klan very much alive in the US at that time.Although carrying a UK PG certificate, Mayo portrays flogging and beating scenes in a manner that although are understated, leave you in no doubt as to what is going on.

Traditional family, friendship and civic values are naturally triumphed, but the insidious nature of xenophobia and the crippling effect of moral rectitude are skilfully played out in a sharp, pacey story.

An almost textbook example of how to tell a powerful, entertaining story with a message in less than an hour and a half, with a fine Bogard performance merely the centrepiece of a strong supporting cast.

Tepid, Formulaic , Nonsense, 16 February 2008

Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom

I condemn this film, not because it is bad, but because it is lazy. Producers Turteltaub and Bruckheimer both have experience of big(pirates) and low budget(cool runnings) success.But here they switch to remote control, and the overwhelming feeling is of a film that was created to generate a paycheck, and no more.

The film is rotten at the core, who cares whether Ben and Patrick Gates (played by Nic Cage and Jon Voight)ancestor was implicated in the murder of Abraham Lincoln? And without that the film loses all dramatic impetus. London? Black cabs, double decker red buses,Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, red post boxes………..yawn, it really is as predictable as that.

The plot is preposterous, and helen Mirren looks as though she would have been better employed looking for a decent script rather than trotting out the banal dross she has to speak.The two hour running time is desperately short of both decent action and witty script, instead we have to trudge through a formula so clunky that you find yourself screaming for an on screen mechanic to give it some oil.

Of course the set pieces are fine, and the stars do their bit – but no more.Avoid unless you are pretty desperate for something to do

Surprisingly Entertaining, 15 February 2008

Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom

I “boycotted” this film for a long time for two main reasons. Firstly i hate Phil Collins brand of smarmy music, and secondly ,glamourising a nasty crime by paying to see it was morally not something i was prepared to do.

Although I stand by my original two points i have to confess that I got it wrong about the film.It is an affectionate retrospective view of Sixties England and has a touch of the “Ealing Studios” about it. The “mechanics” of the robbery are glossed over, and Phil Collins does a pretty competent job ” carrying” the film, ably supported by the versatile Julie Walters as his long suffering wife.

Crime doesn’t pay, the main players get picked up pretty quickly, and those that don’t are either getting ripped off themselves or are looking over their shoulder all the time, or both. The period touches are largely sharply observed, the contemporary soundtrack faithful and enjoyable, Collins “Two hearts” and the Four Tops “Acupolco” totally dis-resonant from proceedings.

Viewed as a piece of period fiction it is entertaining, pacey, light and humorous.As an insight into the Robbery, Edwards or the gang it is laughable.