Part 8: Directed by David Nutter & Jeremy Podeswa
The Battle of Iwo Jima. The legendary battle that took place during the war and finally we’ll get to see it here, and you can tell this is another beat entirely compared to the last battle we had in the last two episodes. Maybe the last three will be with this battle showing Sledge die or something? He’s looking mighty pale and thin Sledge; it wouldn’t surprise me if he went crazy and did something that will change his life forever. And i still continue to like the small segments with Basilone dealing with home life and being a “celebrity” of the war. The war which he both wants to rejoin and to forget. But i like the direction of having Basilone become a teac
her to the new recruits; i think it suits him nicely. And the episode further explores him teaching the new marines and finding love, with of course The Pacific standard love scene/nudity thrown in for good measure. Seems like the episode is the bridge or the start of something for the next two episodes. With Basilone going back to the marines and the front line, you wonder if something big is going to happen to him or worse. The battle of Iwo Jima is shown in the last ten minutes of the episode, so it’s a good lead into more. It’s been an okay episode, a bit slow which was bound to happen with how fast paced it’s been lately with like three or four in a row being quick. The battle sequence at the end is again stunning and brutal with a surprise too which you can kinda see coming but the way it happens is very well made. An okay episode with a strong ending.
Simon Childs
Extract - Mike Judge
From Arrested Development onto his somewhat successful film career with hits such as Dodgeball, The Break-Up, The Ex, Juno, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Hancock, The Invention of Lying, Up in The Air, Couples Retreat and upcoming Paul, Jason Bateman is a very popular comedic actor who can somehow go from working big blockbuster films to starring in small indie flicks. But Bateman has the talent to turn those small indie flicks into laugh out loud memorable performances. Extract for instance is the latest film to be made to showcase Bateman’s true range of skills, directed by the magnificently funny and strange Mike Judge, a film essentially about an extract production company has some of funniest moments of the year with a great ensemble cast also featuring heavy hitters in the comedy scene such as Mila Kunis, Ben Affleck, Kristen Wiig, J.K. Simmons and David Koechner. So finding out this ensemble cast had been brought together by Judge, i knew had to see it, and now it’s been released onto DVD, i snapped at the chance to see this film which won’t be getting a massive release nor will it be getting a massive following, which it somewhat deserves considering how light-hearted and funny it is.
It shows the life of Joel Reynolds, owner of a flavour-extract company, married to the wonderful Kristen Wiig, and being best friends with a bar owner and drug dealer Affleck whilst juggling problems at the plant and with his marriage. It shows the bad things a man would do to get everything back on track, and this is where the true laughs emerge, giving real life instances new meaning and having the heartfelt “real” responses in situations, such as Joel willing to take drugs to calm him down, a con artist willing to “fall in love” with a guy with only one testicle who is about to win a settlement and a guy who forgets his workers names. Okay, maybe not the testicle thing but still, you get my point. The growing relationship between Joel and Cindy, the con artist is believable and it becomes apparent that Joel is only doing it to get back at his cheating wife, who don’t suspect is doing anything until all the is revealed. It’s a decent comedy with some funny scenes, especially with Affleck, rocking a mad wig. He seems to be the light relief, similar to the role of Ryan Reynolds in Adventureland.
The massive increase in small, but relatively funny films seems to be occurring more in 2010, with tons of films not getting the massive releases they deserve but instead finding their way into people’s DVD collections that follow the one or two actors such as Bateman or Affleck. Big fans of Mike Judge will like too, so i would defiantly give it a chance, you might enjoy it like i did.
6/10
Simon Childs
The Stranger - Robert Lieberman
Let’s begin with a little story of myself and my childhood and involving a form of entertainment that many would call embarrassing or ridiculous. A form of sport that has received widespread hatred because of its childish nature and it’s over the top representation. You may already know what I’m talking about but if you’re unsure, it’s called wrestling, and no not the Olympic style wrestling but the good old fashioned wrestling provided by the WWE, the World Wrestling Entertainment Company, formally WWF. Growing up as a kid in South East London, fascinated by TV and the movies, it was no surprise that growing up; sport was a massive thing in my house. Watching football, cricket, rugby and a wide range of sports, one type that always fascinated by me by the staging of it, the sense of drama and script was wrestling. It had amazing characters, fantastic storylines and real athletes performing week in, week out all types of exciting shows and matches for you to wonder and wish about. It’s something that should grow out at a young age, but i do sometimes still read about the business about what’s going on, especially PPV every month. It’s something I’ve embraced, but I’m not a massive fan where i watch it three times a week like most children or teenagers but i still have my favourite wrestlers from the past and now. Always been a big fan of The Rock, Mankind, CM Punk, Triple H, Edge, Chris Jericho, and many, many more. But one name that defined the era that i watched, was the legend, Stone Cold Steve Austin. This man was wrestling. He was the face, he was the sound, and he was it. And people fucking loved it. And still do now. That’s why, using his massive popularity with the older audiences, his film career has somehow emerged with his starring in The Expendables, the new Sly Stallone film about a group of mercenaries, but before that Stone Cold had his own film, produced by the WWE with its new film company, Stone Cold takes centre stage, but will be able to take this and run with it into a fully fledged action film career?
Sadly the answer is no. Finding out that this was to be released on DVD instead of a cinema release, i knew that the film would be poor. The quality of a straight-to-DVD release where the filmmaking is so poor, you wonder if you could do a better job yourself. The storyline is weak, the action sequences are sloppy and all over the shop. Yeah sure it’s Stone Cold in action, but he can’t act really, just act tough, and that’s what makes the difference from him and other action films that had some acting kill, that charisma that made you care, for instance Bruce Willis in Die Hard, you actually care if he lives or dies. So after finding out Stone Cold had his own movie and finally getting to see it, it’s not looking good. He hasn’t made an impact like The Rock has. But i will keep watching his work, and who knows, over time, he could become brilliant. We all wish!
And on a last note...STUNNER!
2/10
Simon Childs
The Karate Kid - Harald Zwart
Another remake for the summer blockbuster season where Hollywood churns out the best films of the year with most profit as the kids are out on their summer holidays, the parents are going on holiday to lovely places and having time off work. And for 2010, it’s The Karate Kid that has been remade with a bigger budget and grander scale to hopefully gain a new audience as well as charm the fans of the old Karate Kid films. I’m a big fan of the original Karate Kid film with Daniel La Russo fighting against the evil Cobra Kai fighting crew with the evil master John Kreese who wants blood. It’s a classic teenager film with some iconic scenes and phrases that will never die in film history, and the man who makes the film is Mr. Miyagi played by the legendary Pat Morita and looking at the martial arts history, there aren’t many people who would be right to take over the mantle from him, but one of the names that will always pop up is the awesome and historic master of martial arts and action films, the one, the only, Jackie Chan. The dude is a powerhouse in fight sequences and his whole career features some of the best ever seen and i doubt they will be beaten. But with this and Chan’s recent turns in becoming a better actor, would this be enough to either relive the past or upgrade for the better in the future? And i was hoping that Chan would do a bit of both, fusing the two together to recreate something familiar but at the same time new and I’m glad to say he does that with a whole heap of charisma and talent.
The story is adapted slightly to base it itself in today’s society where the kid moves to Beijing to start a new life with his mother and he soon meets the maintenance man of the building he lives at, Mr. Han. Mr. Han helps Dre Parker, the 12 year old kid played by the upcoming and quite likeable Jaden Smith (son of William Smith) after he is bullied outside his house and in his new school which seemingly started with Dre showing some of his dance moves to a local girl who takes a liking to him. From there, random events happen where Dre is beaten up and gets further upset about the situation until Mr. Han teaches him some moves to stop the bullies. This only about an hour in so far and the build up for Dre to become the master of kung fu he is at the end is a great pay-off, you can defiantly see the struggle and pain of training. It’s like a 45 minute long montage which is just ridiculous.
And before i give the score, a couple of things to point out, the ending is very good with the final move from Dre fucking hilarious and insane and something that defiantly trumps the crane kick from the original, which i was hoping they wouldn’t use. Also you’ll find in many scenes that Dre will give a look that is ridiculously similar to his father, like uncanny in how this kid acts and portrays himself on screen, once you see the film, you’ll know what I’m talking about. A decent remake with good fight sequences but just lacking the original spirit and the age gap isn’t a good thing.
6/10
Simon Childs
Part 7: Directed by Tim Van Patton
Wow. That’s the word that came out of my mouth once the episode had ended. It’s an eye opener for sure. It is easily the most upsetting episode so far in terms of showing the real effects of war on a human being and it’s terrifying to say the least. Some of the sequences in this part were downright shocking, especially where one of the soldiers is throwing rocks into an open skull of one of the Japanese men. It’s revolting, but i guess it’s meant to be like that, it’s meant to show the brutality of the situation there in. The constant threat of death and the amount of destruction around him with their colleagues and sometimes friends dying or being blown up. The way the battle scenes are shot must take days, weeks or even months to perfect with the amount of timing and precise detail that does into them. To have it coming out the way it did, it prov
es that this show is one of the best on TV at the moment. The story at the moment has taken its chance to really show the horrors and the effects on the men and it shows none better than on Sledge, the innocent boy going into the war, being turned into the shell of the boy who first arrived. He’s seen things he wished he hadn’t and because of it, he’s changed. Sledge now moving into the limelight of the series, only small scenes with Basilone still not over the war and Leckie being hurt and being deported it seems only Sledge is left in the warzone. Maybe the next instalments will focus on the men outside the war, with Basilone trying to grip the reality of not being in a war, Leckie recovering from his injuries or being too injured and Sledge returning home to his family the man he was meant to be but something a little off about him. I’m looking forward to the direction this might go.
Simon Childs
God of War 3 - PS3
This review is probably a few months way behind when it was released in March, but it was the first time i had gotten round to playing the game this summer and i thought i would review one of the best games ever to have been produced. I know in the future I’ll try to get games that are new and upcoming showcasing some of the best video games on the market at that time. With reviews of Call of Duty: Black Ops, Fifa 2011, Playstation Move and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World coming this season, i hope you find the reviews worthwhile in selecting the right game to buy and most importantly play. So with one of the biggest years for the Playstation brand, from having heavy beatings from Microsoft and Nintendo, the games would have to shine in 2010 and so far, they have been with massive releases of Uncharted 2, Bioshock 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Final Fantasy 13, M
odNation Racers, Red Dead Redemption, Transformers: War For Cybertron and many others that were both first party games and third party, but it seemed the line-up they had would somehow beat both the dry spell of original franchises from Microsoft and the family friendly, somewhat on a downward spiral Nintendo. With so many sequels to the successive franchises and series the console had before on both PS2 and with the launch of PS3, the second generation games would come to save the day for PS3 in terms of money.
One of the biggest successes for Playstation was the original concept of God of War on the PS2, a massive smash for the company, creating a game with luxurious settings, a fascinating and engaging storyline with action sequences that were not rivalled until the latest consoles of PS3 and Xbox 360. And with the sequel God of War 2, the team behind the games, Santa Monica Studios, wanted to create a game above the first, trying to capitalise on the software given to them and create an almost epically end to the console as the next in line was about to be released. And they did, creating a game furthering their work on the first and infusing more action and storyline with more puzzles and enemies to produce one of the best games I’ve ever played. And now moving onto God of War 3, a game which is released 3 years after the last one, from the same studio but this time with the PS3, a piece of software that would be utilised by the production crew to produce one of the best gaming experiences of all time. Mixing the fantastic storyline which once and all ends in epic fashion, causing iconic and mesmerising moments where you’ll wonder if your watching a Hollywood film and action sequences that would make Michael Bay have a boner. It’s really that great. Straight from the get go you have these fights with bosses that are probably better than final bosses of most of the games of PS3. And this is only the first level. The level designs are splendid and not once did i feel bored or began to lose patience with it like some games that have a grand scale, too much to handle. Here it is just right. Perfectly fitted into about 10 hours of gameplay, you could easily finish it in a day, but it’s worth
it. It may seem short but it packs a punch with boss battles, puzzles and quick movements that will blow you away.
I won’t ruin too much of the storyline as I’m sure if you know about God of War you know about the back story of Kratos, a demi-God who after many years of being a powerful warrior becomes the God of War in the first game after defeating Aries and soon begins to think bigger threatening Zeus to become the God of Olympus. Throw in a few plot twists and turns and you’ll be rooting for Kratos to kick some butt throughout. And special mention to the sequences in God of War 3 where you’ll get to face off against certain gods, such as Hades, Helios, Hermes and Poseidon, and one of the most brutal sequences in the game is with Hermes, famous for his winged boots, Kratos does something that will both disturb you and want you to physically do it yourself. If you’ve played the game you’ll know what i mean.
Overall, a fantastic game with set pieces that are built to look and feel like a Hollywood Blockbuster, and the designs of both setting and character give it an edge over most of the games out there. Sure there are downers about the length of the game and button bashing gameplay with repetitive parts, but i think these are minor offensives, really nit-picking. So if you haven’t played it yet, go out and buy it NOW!
VISUALS: So far only two games match this for visuals, that being Uncharted 2 and Red Dead, but the boss battles alone warrants this full marks 20%
SOUND: It’s brooding, it’s vicious, it’s over-the-top sure, but it fits. The voice acting is silly at times but it matches the game, no faults i can find with it 20%
GAMEPLAY: God of War 1 and 2 were epic games and to once again feel that here makes the years long wait that extra special. It was perfect gameplay where the pace never stopped. 20%
LASTING APPEAL: Maybe not as long as many games on the PS3 like FF13 or Red Dead, but it packs a punch within the 10 hours of gameplay, there are no boring sequences just continued fun and i like that in a game 20%
SPECIAL FEATURES: Maybe lacking in online and other features, but trophies wise it will take a long time to complete and with artwork and special videos, it’s decent 16%
96%
Simon Childs
Leaves of Grass - Tim Blake Nelson
Every so often a really weird film comes out of nowhere and surprises you. Especially the people in it or the plot which somehow seems to be made from the mind of a mad man about to go on a killing spree. You know the films I’m talking about, the ones ruled by urban myth of how bad they are or for one particular scene where a tongue is cut off or a sex scene occurs that involve real sex. And for this month’s weird fucking film award goes to Leaves of Grass. Even the name is going to suggest some sort of drug use or drug connected, and it is. It revolves around the growing of drugs and how science can used for good to create a sustainable and varied choose of drugs. Wait did i say it was a good thing; i meant a horrible bad one. Now I’m not a believer of drugs but at the same time i don’t openly hate upon it, I’m that kind of person, everyone has their own choice and I’m not going to threaten people to do what i want. So I’m open to the idea of people doing it sensibly and it’s up to them. So going into the film, i was hoping the humour would overrun the fact it’s a stoner comedy with a lot less stoner, not like Pineapple Express or a Cheech and Chong movie. So once i knew it was Edward Norton as the main lead, i was a little surprised, seeing him as a professional actor who may not have the same roots in comedy been in this type of movie, i was defiantly surprised. And unfortunately after seeing the film, it doesn’t change my view greatly, it just cements the fact that it doesn’t work.
Ed Norton plays two characters, two twins, one being an ivory league philosophy professor and the other a weed grower from the Deep South with one of the worst accents of all time. Through in this whole storylines of the weed grower brother tricking his smarter brother to come back to their home town to help him with a local druglord who wants the hillbilly killed and that’s pretty much it. Of course a love story in thrown in too with the smarter brother, as every film has to have it and also the realisation of the smarter one that maybe his brother isn’t half as stupid as he thinks. It has the normal clichés of a stoner comedy but just without the comedy and random violence mixed with it. I don’t find it funny or entertaining, if anything just really boring and predictable. I expected more from Ed Norton considering his past and the knowing fact that he is one of the best actors alive. Poor show. I don’t recommend it at all.
2/10
Simon Childs
Remember Me - Allen Coulter
Robert Pattinson. A name googled more times than some of the greatest people that has ever lived, Newton, Gandhi, Einstein, and people all types of fields of science, mathematics, technology, media and the arts. His name is now one of the founding names of this generation. It’s sad to know that the Noughties will be remembered for a series of books and films that have seen to take over many people’s lives. Twilight. And when i say Twilight, with that horrible shiver down my neck, this cultural phenomenon has tore this universe into shreds because of its following, it defies logic in how so many people enjoy it. From mothers to daughters, to white people to black people, from the rich to the poor, it seems that the book has connected with a lot of people. It’s even difficult to comprehend this fact by how it’s bigger than one of the biggest book series ever, Harry Potter. So when a phenomenon defeats another, only one thing can come from it. Labels. Especially with the actors who star in these films; they are forever labelled as that role, we’ve seen it all before, where their lives are dictated by it, including their personal lives. Robert Pattinson will sadly be labelled that guy from Twilight. It’s sad but it’s true. He won’t be able to shake it off unless he does a Harrison Ford and continues to become iconic figures like Indiana Jones, Han Solo and Deckard. So with his first major lead film outside the Twilight franchise sees him trying to shake off the critics and i can say that’s not as bad as you may think.
Remember Me is a romantic drama piece that sees Pattinson fall in love with Emilie de Ravin, the lovely Claire from the epic TV show Lost. So it seems both have things to do in this film to move on. The two meet after a bet made by Pattinson’s friend to go after her in a cafe, and they soon begin to date. Pattinson beforehand is arrested after a fight and is arrested by de Ravin’s father played by Chris Cooper who shows the two young leads how to act. Through in the death of Pattinson’s brother who still haunts him long after his suicide and de Ravin’s mother being killed in front of her at an early age, it seems the two are damaged souls that get on together because of their up and down emotions. They do suit each other very well and the chemistry works. So the story follows the budding romance along with the two family problems with Pattinson’s father, Pierce Brosnan wanting to help but at the same time being a dick towards Pattinson and her daughter, Pattinson’s sister, who is very cute in the film, you will defiantly feel sorry for her.
And on a last note, a lot of controversy surrounds the ending of the film involving a certain event. Now i won’t ruin it for you, but it will swing your opinion in if it’s too soon to be using that event for a film, but it’s up to you. I thought it worked and added a different kind of twist, i just hope it isn’t used too many times as a scapegoat.
6/10
Simon Childs
The Crazies - Breck Eisner
The latest in a long line of modern remakes of classic horror films, this George A. Romero’s 70’s B-Movie hit The Crazies has been updated and significantly changed from the original and many are calling it better than the original. Now there haven’t been many examples of horror remakes that have worked, sure you can list the names of films on one of your hands for the good ones, but when it’s done right, it easily makes up the fact that the others were shit. For example, Dawn of the Dead and The Hills Have Eyes, both use traits from the past film but update it in such a way it’s on its own accord and shouldn’t just be analysed for being a rip off of the original films. But as I’ve said, there are plenty more shit remakes than good, as you can see by some I’ve reviewed about like Halloween 2 and the upcoming DVD release of The Nightmare on Elm Street, both of which many hated on because of its portrayal of its lead iconic characters. With The Crazies, there aren’t any iconic parts or characters, but instead a simple plot which we’ve seen before where a town is infected by a deadly virus turning them into angry blood thirsty slow people with weird faces. It’s kind of a cross between the virus from Cloverfield and the Resident Evil slow types of zombies.
The lead character played by the dick Timothy Olyphant, and the reason i call him a dick is because i don’t like him. I just don’t. It’s almost like the scene from Star Wars in the cantina where the guy says he hates Luke Skywalker. Well it’s like that, but for a reason. I’ve heard reports of arrogance and the way he treats other actors and directors. I can’t respect an actor when shit like that comes out. So going into the film, i knew i wouldn’t sympathise with the lead, so may that have hindered it. Or maybe it was the boring plot with standard un-entertaining characters, the predictable action and the shiteous ending. I think it was a mix of all that. But back to the plot, Tim plays the sheriff of a small town and one night, after a dead body is found in the nearby lake and water system, the water is infected by a virus which soon spreads around the whole town. The government finds out and quarantines the whole town off, separating everyone into different sections. Along with the sheriff are his wife and his second in command who seems to be the only one whom turns up to the film wanting some action. The film is so boring, you’ll want to move onto something with action. As the main character is a sheriff you’d imagine he would be trying to sort shit out and taking names, but instead he just pusses out.
A bad remake of a film that wasn’t that great to start off with. Doesn’t work in the current climate where films like this appear every year in numbers but add new twists, don’t remake the film that started it all and not change it for the better. Sloppy filmmaking.
2/10
Simon Childs
The Bounty Hunter - Andy Tennant
The third romantic comedy review in a row, and I’m beginning to hate the fact that there are so many shit films out there claiming to be funny or claiming to be about romance. Here we have one of the worst cases of it. Yes, another Gerald Butler film showing his muscular charm along with his wit and action background with a semi attractive woman from TV. And here it’s Rachel from Friends, Jennifer Aniston. And it almost seems like a comeback for Aniston as i remember the last film she was in that I’ve watched was the half decent The Break-Up with Vince Vaughan, which i found to have a good time watching. Sadly, you can tell the leading man is one of the most important things where so she can bounce off of them, like how in Friends, the funniest people are the men and how Vince Vaughan is the show stealer in The Break Up. Butler can’t quite hold his own here with just his comedic timing, but with a poor script thrown in the mix, it ends up being more about the past relationship and less about actually being a bounty hunter or about the overall message of the film, if it even had one.
The film follows Butler’s character, becoming a bounty hunter and being asked to take her ex-wife, Jen Aniston in after she missed a court appearance. So here begins the goose chase with these two with different chase sequences and mind games and the usual, going down the road of their relationship and finding out how they’ve matured and how they’ve changed their wicked ways. Then comes the reconciliation part where you’ll see either be sexy or naked or both, and that’s the main draw of the whole film, seeing Butler topless or Aniston in skin tight clothes and showing her bust. Do actors really have to resort to that to gain a popular following? Proper actors use their bodies in the role for a reason, to further the character or story for the better, not because it’s the easy way out. So we have sequences that are meant to be humorous with the bounce back witticisms from them both but the only funny scenes, which are also pretty bad, are with Jason Sudeikis, a great comedy actor seen on Saturday Night Live in the US. He’s a very funny comedian, but here he is used as a secondary comedy source and it really doesn’t work. It would have worked better if Sudeikis was in Butler’s shoes and then it would have been funny.
So overall, don’t waste your time watching this, its utter shit that will almost anger you in a way you would have never thought of.
3/10
Simon Childs
Part 6: Directed by Tony To
Starting off with a mini warning from the real footage and the interviews with the soldiers in the particularly battle which will be depicted, the comparison of numbers of Japanese men to Marines sums up the whole piece and the battle that takes place on the airfield. It’s a long battle sequence and easily one of the best of the series so far. It looks spectacular and clearly the main piece in the whole series, with tons of money being used to recreate something so close to reality it’s scary. Bodies flying all over the place, limbs all over the battleground, men screaming and shouting whilst being shot at and the 
place going off in smoke. It’s a terrifying representation of war and with two main characters involved; you begin to wonder if their time is up. With Leckie and his men seen from the very beginning of the series, they are a close knit team and it’s sad to see them slowly one by one begin to get killed. Leckie takes it hard in this episode, resulting in him being emitted into the more serious casualty boat. Whilst Sledge seems to be growing to his new team where they were very different, almost forcing him to be an outcast, but in war, you must be a team and it seems to have changed for them. Sledge looking round and realising that it is as brutal as what people have called it. It’s a great episode and the pinnacle point of the series so far. I really hope it gets even better from here or it carries on the battle of Peleliu. It seems to be drawn out a lot with the whole fighting, but maybe now with the airfield being taken, it will move to somewhere new.
Simon Childs
She's Out of my League - Jim Field Smith
A massive market of romantic comedies still exist and to be something different in this genre, you have to stand out as being something familiar and something renovated, it’s hard thing to do but sometimes it happens and proves that you shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken. And the case here is made by the new 2010 version of Knocked Up, She’s Out Of My League, staring a young cast who you may have seen in other films but not know the name of. The lead Jay Baruchel proves to the world that, with this being his first lead film, that he deserves to be here and deserves to become a much bigger name. It seems its Baruchel’s year, with massive releases this summer in a varied amount of ways with How To Train Your Dragon and the newly released The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. I’m a massive fan of Baruchel since a small television show which lasted for one season called Undeclared and was a great show about college written and directed by none other than the famous Judd Apatow at the start of his career and stars Baruchel as the lead with Seth Rogen and Jason Segel, who know both headlines films and earn a massive amount of money every time they release something. Sadly Baruchel didn’t blossom as quick, but now with the huge releases and his future looking bright, he could easily steal in and take a huge chuck of the audience favouritism away from Rogen and Segel.
Baruchel plays a lonely guy who doesn’t have much luck in his life including with woman, his job and his friends. He works as an airport security worker who works with his friends (who almost steal every scene in the film!) and one day due to a freak coincident, helps retrieve Molly’s (played by the stunningly attractive Alice Eve) lost phone. After helping getting her phone back, she asks him on a date. And straight away, Baruchel begins to wonder why such an attractive woman would date a guy like him, the average Joe. Throw in some really funny scenes with explanations how he could be funny, and Baruchel bringing Molly to his family’s house, where the family can’t quite believe what’s happened and you have a relatively funny film, but in a sweet way. I especially enjoyed Baruchel playing the sweet and innocent guy who just can’t seem to come off the way he hopes and with a surprising, but in a good way, ending, the best part is when it starts to go wrong, and for the first time, it’s realistic and isn’t the fairytale you would expect. The scenes with Baruchel best friends are clearly the main parts of the film that interact with the audience the best, it’s very similar to The Hangover, but sitting down.
Overall, a really decent romantic comedy that mixes it up a little. I expect the next step of Jay Baruchel to be big...
7/10
Simon Childs
Valentine's Day - Garry Marshall
I really hope this kind of film doesn’t become a trend similar to Christmas where films are written for the audience at that time, trying to ignite the spark in the audience’s imagination and grabbing that mad money of the holiday audiences. But, what makes this different is filming tailoring around a holiday that’s not an official holiday but a date made up by companies to make you spend more money. Yes, it sounds like I’m a bitter man about the whole thing, and no i haven’t had bad experiences with Valentine’s Day where I’ve been dumped or I’ve been cheated on, sadly i don’t live the Hollywood film lifestyle. More often than not, I’m single of Valentine’s Day and that suits me just fine. Moving back on track with this review, i hate Valentine’s Day the holiday, so going into this romantic comedy, i knew it would irritate the fuck out of me. Of all the actors and performances, clearly the money was the major factor for all of them, cashing in on the holiday itself where couples would go see it and have a wonderful evening. (Sick in my mouth). Instead, you get two hours of pure self praise, where each actor appears doing the exact same thing the last actors do, trying to be funny and sweet but showing that the script is bare, the storylines sometimes don’t work and it gets very annoying. Now you may disagree and think it’s an okay film with some funny sections and a decent watch on a Saturday night. There are millions, literally millions of films that are better than this in just the romantic genre or a film that make you laugh.
Normally with the review, this is the section i write about what the film is about, but I’m not going to describe it as it’s a mesh of different tales of different people on Valentine’s Day, with people cheating, people breaking up, kids learning about romance, old people still in love, people against the day, and other random fucking stories that aren’t funny nor cute. It stars a mixture of great actors who have great careers being in decent films like Topher Grace, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway and Bradley Cooper and then we have some mediocre actors who are in the end of their dying careers like Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah and Kathy Bates. And throw in a couple of surprise appearances of the two “hunks” from Greys Anatomy and that werewolf guy from the Twilight films and the girl he was supposedly seeing, yes that famous young country singer, the film is overpopulated with lame performances. Using the blueprint set by New York i Love You and Paris, je t’aime, decent films that had separate sections about different relationships in the city where it’s set, but at the same time the relationships felt real and the performances furthered the story and made it entirely captivating with the different directing styles.
So don’t watch this pile of shit, instead watch New York I Love You and Paris, je t’aime, ten times better all round, i promise.
4/10
Simon Childs
We Are Scientists – Barbara
Welcome to our first music review and for the next couple of months we’ll be giving you the latest album of the month of what we are listening to and what we think you’ll enjoy. It’s something a little different for us here so just sit back and enjoy. And you can do is go through each track like we will be doing and see if you agree with the comments and if you agree with that we’ll have myself, Simon do most of the commenting and sometimes we’ll have a special guest way in with some comments and points about tracks and even whole albums. Look for at the end of each month for the album of the month. And starting with July, your album of the month goes to We Are Scientists and their latest release Barbara.
A New York based band formed way back in 2000, originally formed by Chris Cain, Keith Murray and Michael Tapper, with Cain on bass, Murray on guitar and lead vocals and Tapper on drums, the band released a self-made album in 2002 called Safety, Fun, and Learning (In That Order) with notably success but only onto their next album after a few EPs, named With Love and Squalor did their mainstream success begin with huge hits like Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt, The Great Escape and It’s A Hit, three big tunes that pushed the band into the limelight with performances at Reading and Leeds festival and a huge tour supporting upcoming bands such as Arctic Monkeys and Mystery Jets. Sadly in 2007, Michael Tapper left the band, just before the release of the next album Brain Thrust Mastery and with the release the band did not receive the massive outbreak they deserved but did see their popularity rise back home in the US with the single After Hours being used in many television shows and films. We Are Scientists were mainly popular in the UK due to their wacky interviews, their intense live shows with comedy thrown in and their ability to write songs to dance to. And now moving onto their latest release Barbara, a new drummer is found, the former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows, We Are Scientists return to their back to basics charm of With Love and Squalor but bring along their melodic charm from Brain Thrust Mastery, choosing not to have crazy drum beats or heavy guitars but smooth sounds. Barbara sees the band truly show that they deserve more credit and deserve to be recognised, but is it enough for the audience to want this? Well here is a track by track run-through of the album, giving comments about the songs best and worst parts and the album as a whole piece.
1. Rules Don’t Stop
The first track off the album, and a sense of urgency from the laid back band that begin to show off the new drummer, the lyrics are good here and the chorus is typical WAS with the addicted and shouty chorus, one made for the festival circuit. The song breaks down at the end with a nice little bridge which shows a great first tune to start off the show. It’s one cleverly thought out by the band to have a song about not stopping to show the critics they can produce a solid record. Moving onto...
2. I Don’t Bite
A great little introduction smoothly transcends into this track, where it’s a sharp guitar track which mixes in a lovely harmony from Keith mixed with his own vocals, it’s a strange mix but it works and having a fade guitar in the background or keyboard, hard to clarify but it feels like a falling effect that connects with the lyrics a little. Always being witty WAS using their history of creating funny lyrics here to a good use. And the song has a great ending with the band really performing and not having Keith sing. Good little dance tune too. A soft end to match the lyrics, it instantly makes you move your head to the beat.
3. Nice Guys
The lead single with a quirky video the song shows the true definition of We Are Scientists performing a good pop song for the mass audience but at the same time being distinct in doing it. Not my favourite song on the album but it’s a good summer tune where it’s made for a car journey in the sun. A jingle jangle beat to it, it isn’t as strong as the first two tracks but it’s defiantly radio friendly.
4. Jack & Ginger
Now for one of my favourites on the album, a jazz feel to this song which comes in strong with a great keyboard beat which soon follows with cleverly laid guitar and drums with some good lyrics here too. An addictive chorus again where’ll it will soon be in your head and it’s a song which i can imagine being used to describe problems relationship problems or being used at the end of a messy night. The production here is very good.
5. Pittsburgh
A dogged down song which starts off sounding like old school We Are Scientists with heavy guitar and drums; a complete departure from the start and soon the dark side of the band appears with the relationship problems taken to the next level. And again they show they can throw together a sing-along chorus, even if it’s a sad song. Well a sad song in the lines of We Are Scientists can offer, talking about sex and how they are only “after one thing”. There almost seems a light at the end of the tunnel too for the song where it seems Keith opens up about how it’s a problem and how he might change, but i doubt it.
6. Ambition
Another great song on the album which seems to be hitting up some great tracks from a band coming into their own, and sure maybe it doesn’t have the urgency or the lack of giving a fuck from the first album and it doesn’t have the ballad and skilled lyrics from the second, but it defiantly shows they can take their formula and make good pop songs, something which i command them for, and this song with a nice vocals and again solid guitar and drum work. It’s got a light feel to it which is nice, a good midpoint of the album.
7. Break It Up
A 70’s feel to this song at the start, almost like a Blondie song, quite different and it’s needed before the album gets repetitive. A great dance track in the sense you can dance to it and enjoy it. Sure it’s airy and has nothing really in depth about it, but what you expect from a good pop indie record is songs to put in the background and dance to, have choruses to sing and cheer along to.
8. Foreign Kicks
A complete change from the other songs with a tripped out guitar plucking with a strong chorus of Keith showing he can sing quite well. The drumming is solid as always and the band again carries on with a good range of styles. I specially love the bridge with the lyrics “forget about the summer, it’s over”, a band who seem to have made a summer album about the end of the summer and how they want to move on.
9. You Should Learn
Ending the album on a high, this second to last song starts off like a rocket with fast paced drumming and strong guitar playing where it accompanies the lead singers harmonies in a more effective manner than before, where it seems his voice is key here and that the background music is well, kept to the back. The song does get a bit repetitive towards the end but as it breaks down (a common theme in their song) you see that WAS are great at many things, but it does get a little boring.
10. Central AC
As you can see by the reviews of each track, I’ve become slightly bored by the end because of the repetitive nature and the fact that many songs do sound the same and you just wish they would mix it up a little and when this song explodes open, it’s different and i like it, very reminiscent of the first album and it shows the band leading off into a new direction, well a new direction into the past perhaps? Here’s hoping so!
A solid album full of summer tunes where you’ll be dancing with friends, it will get some radio airplay because it’s very Radio 1 friendly but it won’t push them into stadium filling limelight, but do you ever see this band doing it? I think they are content on performing in large venues, or opening for a big act. It makes sense that keep with this act because it fits the hole missed by so many pop-rock bands, a sense of purpose and who are actually talented and likeable with it.
7/10
Simon Childs
I Love You Philip Morris - Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
I just wanna get something off my chest real quick before i start to review this film. Now I’m not homophobic and i don’t hate people because of their sexuality and i certainly don’t have any judgements to any people who chose that lifestyle. It’s not a nice thing to do and it’s certainly not fair to say hurtful things to people who are exactly the same. We all human beings. So let me begin in when i say that this film is probably one of the gayest films I’ve ever seen, it don’t mean it in a hurtful way and i don’t mean it in a discriminative way, just the fact that this film is very camp and very gay. So just be warned that if your against this kind of behaviour or have strong feelings towards it then maybe this film is not for you. And i stress that, yes there is a gay sex scene and does involve other gay activities with the two leads Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. But i thought i would check this out for it’s humour, because Jim hasn’t made many films this year and i like Jim Carrey the comedic actor, i think he is still funny, so to see it for its humour, i can see why people might be turned off by the prospect of watching it.
But nonetheless the film follows the true story of Steven Jay Russell played by Jim Carrey, as a multiple escape artist who falls in love with Philip Morris whilst in prison for fraud and stealing money from a massive company. The film follows the seemingly highs and very lows of the couple as they first meet in prison, to being released together to Steven earning mega money amounts by lying and cheating his way through businesses leading to him being put back in prison with Philip. It has scenes that are genuinely funny especially with Carrey as he does steal the show for most of it and sometimes it does miss the point a little. But i surprised with the chemistry between the two leads. They pull off the relationship well and you can tell their is a genuine affection for each other. Through in come on prison gay jokes and it does seem like you’ve seen it before, but the quirky nature, the strangely addictive theme music and the cheesy accents, it makes the film for an okay viewing. It won’t blow you away but nor will it bore you.
There has been a lot of criticism lately for Jim Carrey and his performances, motioning that he has somewhat fallen wayward in his comedic presence and only performing in films for money. Now i disagree, yes there are a few films that don’t show his true potential but at the same time, comedy has moved on. Comedic actors change and so do the styles of humour that the common audience enjoy. Look at the massive uprising of teen comedies fronted by Judd Apatow. More and more of these types of films are being made but then I’m sure this movement will soon die out and something new will appear. So Jim Carrey will have his day again and he will show how truly amazing he really is.
6/10
Simon Childs
Greenberg – Noah Baumbach
Being a massive fan of Noah Baumbach’s work, well from the 2005 onwards, the first i saw was the eloquently unusual but somewhat brilliant film The Squid and The Whale and then moving onto a film that i enjoyed on a different level Margot at the Wedding and his latest directorial piece Greenberg starring Ben Stiller. He was also a writer on two massive films that i adore, both collaborating with the magnificent director Wes Anderson on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox. And finally seeing another great film from this up and coming director is always a pleasure and hearing that the soundtrack will be constructed by one of my favourite musician’s James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem, it almost seemed too good to be true. With Noah’s new film, i knew Ben Stiller was to star and i was a little confused how this would happen, would Stiller have to step back from his normal shtick of being a little strange and a little funny mixed together like his films Meet the Parents and Night at the Museum, which I’m not a massive fan of especially the Meet the Parents film, i think they are a pile of steaming shit. But i like Stiller as a comedian and an actor, and i think with the right direction he can be awesome, for example, The Cable Guy, There’s Something About Mary, Mystery Men, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Dodgeball, and Tropic Thunder. And if you look at all those films, there are some spectacular performances from the guy, and i thought maybe here he would really shine and i was right, Baumbach gets a perfect performance out of Stiller.
The film follows Stiller playing Roger Greenberg, who is suffering from a nervous breakdown and is asked by his brother to look after his house. He meets the assistant to his brother’s family Florence and begins a strange unusual relationship with her where they both push and pull each other away but at the same time both wanting to further the relationship. It’s something really hard to put a name on and describe. As well as meeting the assistant, he also visits an old friend who lives in the area, Ivan, played by Rhys Ifans, and they too have a bitter relationship after Roger fucked up a great band opportunity for both Ivan and Roger. The film does revolve around different relationships and strains which affect the normal human being. In these relationships funny and sad events occur and the simple writing of Baumbach embraces these tiny moments and that’s where the heart and soul of the movie appears from.
It’s a wonderfully made film with some really tough emotional scenes which Stiller shows he isn’t a one trick pony and that he really can act. It’s defiantly a great film in the collection that Baumbach has started and i hope his next film will follow this trend.
7/10
Simon Childs
Inception – Christopher Nolan
With my last review of the epically amazing Toy Story 3, i gave the film a 9.5 because i couldn’t find the way of giving the film a full ten because of Kick-Ass and because of this film right here, Inception. I knew this film would blow me away from all the reviews, the trailers, the behind-the-scenes features, the early reports and the massive online marketing scheme, it had hit written all over it. And not forgetting the fact its Christopher Nolan directing, which instantly makes it a classic along with the somewhat invincible Leonardo DiCaprio alongside one of the best ensemble casts the world has ever seen with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy. Each actor could easily front a film by themselves, but here they are pawns for the Leo show and you can easily see why the best actors in the world would want to work with him. He’s a megastar. Now with Inception, you’ve probably seen all the reviews and all the talk of it being complex, being mind-boggling stuff which i found not to be the case. Sure it involves a storyline that doesn’t let up that doesn’t slow down for the audience, but i got it, i understand pretty much all of it and I’ll demonstrate by describing to you what happens in the film.
The films follows Dominic Cobb played by Leo, who is an extractor who infiltrates peoples dream to take information from inside their minds, deep within their consensus for people who he is hired by. His team also consists of Gordon-Levitt who plays Arthur who researches his targets and makes sure everything is okay such as times of whereabouts, who is in contact with them and at the start of the film it just involves them two but due to a massive job constructed by Saito played by Ken, who pays Dominic and Arthur to infiltrate Robert Fischer an heir to a massive amount of money and businesses (played by Cillian Murphy). Saito helps Cobb form a team to help get the information from Fischer by constructing a multi-level dream for Fischer to believe is happening. A dream within a dream within a dream. It all makes sense. These dreams are then made by the architects, people who can form these landscapes, these mazes to make the person believes that the dream is real. Played by Ellen Page, the young architect here also plays the mentality-straightener of Cobb, who keeps telling him what he is doing wrong and how he needs to change. Also in the team, played by Tom Hardy, is Eames, a man who can impersonates a target inside the dream who makes the target believe further the dream is real. See, sounds easy doesn’t it. Just a massive job that these guys must do to get the information, but the way they get info is by planting information inside the mind, which hasn’t been done before, and by planting something inside the targets mind, this will lead to them changing their mind and believing in the people further. It’s all about belief and accepting it. Through in some relationship problems, some funny and interesting connections with the characters, and add in an amazing 45 minute end sequence which will blow your mind by having four epic scenes happen AT THE SAME TIME!
Overall, this film is truly spectacular, the soundtrack by the one and only Hans Zimmer, the same cinematography throughout Nolan’s career is defiantly one of the best in the business, showing the truly magnificent scenery and worlds these people inhabit and mix in the perfection direction by Nolan, which you can see has taken years to perfect where each scene will go and how it will end in the timeline of events. So please go see this film, go see it more than once, buy it on DVD, tell your friends it’s your favourite movie of all time, because, its. That. Fucking. Good.
10/10
Simon Childs
Part 5: Directed by Carl Franklin
With an introduction that good from Tom Hanks and the dark interviews with the soldiers, the battle which was called “the toughest island takeover of World War 2”, you can feel the anticipation in the air, and this episode, being the middle point of the series could possibly be the best. With the 1st Marines arriving on a new island, which was said to have conflict for 2 months, it looks like Leckie and the new recruit, Sledge have their work cut out for them. But before all that, the return of the infamous Basilone, with a couple of funny scenes here to start the episode off alongside another one of The Pacific’s wonderfully awkward sex scenes. And the end of Basilone segment with a touching but semi-disturbing moment about his time on Guadalcanal. We’re back with the new recruit Sledge in the battle of Peleliu and his introduction into the war scene. Leckie strolls in as well, and we can see Sledge and Leckie being at the same place, hopefully their stories will interact with each other. They chat to each other and then they soon fight together, where the action picks up and the last half of the episode is a massive battle scene, where you see the true greatness of the series so far, showing the true nature of a gunfight, where your just stumbling around trying not to get shot, people around you dying. It’s chaos. A great episode, almost feels like a two part episode, where the battle of Peleliu will continue with Sledge worried about what the future holds and showing Leckie somewhat different to what he was before, he seems scared.
Simon Childs
Toy Story 3 - Lee Unkrich
The biggest animated franchise is back with the third instalment and I’ve been waiting for 11 years for this, and let’s hope it doesn’t disappoint. Instead of my normal 500 word review, I’ll probably gonna spew a lot about this film because it’s a mixture of pure love for the series, love for the animation studio behind it Pixar and the fact that i want to write about every detail i possibly can and try to explain how amazing this film really is. And yes, this film is fucking amazing. It truly brings you back to a world which your familiar with and have missed for a long time, but sorta feels refreshed and older, where you’ve grown into an adult and so has the characters in the film. And i love that about it. How we’ve all grown up with these characters and seeing them in positions which we are at, it’s something very special and touching. Now I’ve reviews tons of films this year so far and maybe a handful have really astounded me in how it’s made, and the way it looks and how it affects me, with only Kick-Ass the top of the list, Toy Story 3 is very close to stealing the crown away of being the best film of 2010. I wish i could give it a ten overall, but sadly i can’t compare to Kick-Ass and possibly the upcoming Inception. Let me explain later why i won’t be giving it a ten. But back to Toy Story 3 and the plot.
It follows somewhat a few years other the first and second instalment where Andy, the kid who owns all the toys is moving to college. It’s defiantly a sad moment for the toys and the family, but before we get into that we start with an amazing scene involving all the main characters in a scene that shows the kind of adventures Andy used to imagine involving Woody and Buzz as the main heroes and Ham and Mr & Mrs Potato Head as the villains. This whole scene in a cavernous desert with the train and the chase is truly spectacular and here in 3D is used well, much better than most films converted into 3D have done (I’m looking at you Clash of the Titans!). It’s very funny and i loved the inclusion of the troll dolls which i had as a kid. So back to reality, the toys that are now living in a massive toy box and not being played that much due to Andy being older. With the decision of Andy moving to college, the toys are unsure where they will end up and most likely being in the attic. After a whole situation where the toys are moved by mistake to the trash, Woody helping them survive and the whole team working together to get back into the house, the toys are sent to Sunnyside, a local day-care. But without Woody who is placed inside Andy’s college box. Luckily Woody helps them by breaking in and seeing the toys being played by youngsters. When they arrive at Sunnyside they meet various amounts of new toys such as Ken, Lot’s-O-Huggin’ Bear and a strange looking baby, all have different qualities and quarks which make them very funny, especially Ken who almost steals the show with his campiness. So after meeting the new toys they are tricked into being played with by much younger kids, causing them to be broken, painted on, thrown, drawn on, it’s horrible to watch. The divide between the new toys and old ones form and the villain is shown. I won’t reveal much further but the film is amazing as it picks up the pace with scenes of espionage, escape thrown in with comedy which I’ll shine some light on, here are some scenes i found the funniest. This might be the part with many spoilers, so don’t look if you haven’t seen the film!
Spanish Buzz is the film’s best thing, the first time he changes, the way he dances and the hand and head movements are ridiculously funny and you’ll want to see the film again and again just for that part. Also a scene which nearly takes that away is when Mr Potato head uses a different body for his parts; this includes a pancake and a cucumber, which is insanely funny, especially the movement with the pancake body. Thrown in hilarious scenes with Ken and trying on new clothes, and the phone which is a gangster type figure, the film can switch from making you laugh to making you cry. Two scenes that made me physically cry, which i won’t talk too much about but the end scene with the cutest little girl and the scene in the dumpster fire area thing lol. So yeah, the film is fucking amazing, and deserves all the credit it gets. But sadly, the ten isn’t what I’m gonna give it. It’s an amazing film, but in parts it drags a little and i found the use of 3D wasn’t as good as I’d hoped so it also puts the score down. But still the film is truly spectacular and for me on the same level as Wall E as the best Pixar film of all time.
9.5/10
Simon Childs
Part 8: Directed by David Nutter & Jeremy Podeswa
her to the new recruits; i think it suits him nicely. And the episode further explores him teaching the new marines and finding love, with of course The Pacific standard love scene/nudity thrown in for good measure. Seems like the episode is the bridge or the start of something for the next two episodes. With Basilone going back to the marines and the front line, you wonder if something big is going to happen to him or worse. The battle of Iwo Jima is shown in the last ten minutes of the episode, so it’s a good lead into more. It’s been an okay episode, a bit slow which was bound to happen with how fast paced it’s been lately with like three or four in a row being quick. The battle sequence at the end is again stunning and brutal with a surprise too which you can kinda see coming but the way it happens is very well made. An okay episode with a strong ending.
