Don’t call it a Disney comeback...

The Princess and the Frog - Ron Clements and John Musker

With the merge of Disney and Pixar, John Lasseter, the head of Pixar stood firmly with the belief that Disney can once again make fairy tales classics that will stay with audiences forever. To incorporate the success and the hard-working mentality of Pixar into Disney is hard work, and the changes won’t happen overnight, especially in the films Disney release. The last 2D picture Disney produced was Home on the Range, an awful film that most people won’t remember as it was drowned out by Pixar. The last film Disney made that was successful in its animation department, to a certain degree, is Lilo and Stitch, which too many people has its up and downs. Now it’s been nearly seven years since the last one, does The Princess and the Frog do justice for Disney, raise up from the ashes and show the Pixar flair with the classic style of the likes of Aladdin, The Lion King or Hercules or does it show that Lasseter was wrong to buy the company and that Disney should just stick to producing teen dramas or musicals like High School Musical and Hannah Montana?

In basic terms, The Princess and the Frog is delightful. It’s got heart, it’s certainly got soul and it’s genuinely funny in parts. Not laugh at loud like Wall E or Toy Story, but it works. It’s great to see the style back, it’s great to reminiscence about the films i saw when i was younger, having a fascination with Disney films and watching them over and over again. They were a staple for a kids growing up. Giving them morals and sometimes dreams, i don’t think there is anyone out there who didn’t want to be a princess or a prince, or be a lion or be any one of the Disney characters. Watching the film, you get strong hints of Corpse Bride, the Tim Burton film, along with hints of past Pixar films, the colours are magnificent here, and it defiantly looks better than any Disney film from the last decade. Capturing New Orleans in the film, its picture perfect, it really gives the city a heart and soul and includes music that fits together with the picture.

The film follows Tiana, a waitress who dreams of opening her own restaurant. She one day accidently kisses a prince, Prince Naveen or thinks Tiana is a princess and which will break the spell of him being a frog. Tiani suddenly turns into a frog, and both Tiana and the Prince must find a way to break the spell and defeat the evil voodoo master who put them under it. Along the way they meet funny and charming characters like the trumpet playing crocodile. It’s a simple premise for children, but adults can defiantly get into it and dig the story. It’s a film i wasn’t expecting much from, but it does the job it’s set out to do. The story is a sad one, but it has the common, heroes and villains. It would be a great modern film to let your children see to let them learn lessons but at the same time, teenagers, adult and mature people will enjoy the soul and heart of the film.

7/10

Simon Childs

HOLY SHIT! Dumbo meets Rambo...

Ong Bak 2 - Tony Jaa

Coming into this film, i had doubts, because of massive speculation of Tony Jaa leaving production half way through and living in a forest for 6 months. That little story had me worrying if the sequel will live up to the awesomeness that was Ong Bak. We’ll this isn’t a sequel; it’s a prequel, maybe the furthest prequel every in terms of years apart. Ong Bak was set modern day, Ong Bak 2 is centuries ago. It’s strange, it doesn’t feel like the same movie, where Ong Bak had very distinctive Hollywood influences, where as this has a strange cocktail of Tony Jaa’s warped mind along with traditional Asian cinema. You can see why he lost it, if he did, but he sure makes some great fighting sequences. Animal lovers beware, there are a few scenes which will make you want to kill Jaa and put his head on a stick in front of thousands of animals to prove a point. He fights on elephants; i shit you not!

The plot follows in the year 1421, a boy named Tien watches as his whole family dies, and he runs away from the King who ordered his Father’s death. Tien is then captured and tested when he is thrown into a pit of crocodiles by slave traders. Whilst Tien fights off the crocodile, he is saved by a leader of a pirate gang. The leader sees potential in Tien as a fighter and begins to train him in several different techniques of fighting, leading him to become one of the strongest fighters ever. It’s a typical martial arts film plot where a man first is weak then becomes the best and defeats a shit-ton of people. And there are a lot of people that get killed by Tien. And i mean a lot. A ridiculous amount. It almost feels like he is taking on a whole army. Just by himself; it’s amazing to watch but it becomes repetitive. The fight sequences are memorable for the great technique and flair Jaa possess.

Ong Bak was remembered for its humour and it’s no effects, no strings fighting, the breaking of bones and the real danger of people getting hurt. It what made it a cult success. Ong Bak 2 does this, but less on the humour, and it suffers for it. The fights will always be the draw for this type of film, even with Ong Bak 3 being released this year, it seems like Jaa just wants to punch and kick a lot of people and not break the stereotype of being Bruce Lee’s new protégé.

6/10

Simon Childs

Trailer Watch VI

7th February - 14th February

Welcome longtime and new readers to the weekly check up on trailers, from independently fianced flicks to the big hitters coming your way over the year or maybe next year. This week selections has a slight focus on remakes and sequels. Well decent ones anyway. We apoligse for the delay in certain reviews, but over the next couple of weeks we shall be flooding you with more news and reviews on the latest and greatest releases on DVD and in your local cinema.

1. Cop Out



2. The Wolfman



3. The Losers



4. Shutter Island



5. Daddy Longlegs

Fish and Chips

Fish Tank - Andrea Arnold

The first feature length film from Andrea Arnold, and the style and technique seen in her award winning short Wasp is evident. The realistic characters in real settings, living the life of which many people are living right now, it tells the story of a teenage girl struggling to fit in, and using dance as a form of release. Along the way she has fights, Mother issues and of course, stealing said mothers’ new boyfriend. It’s a common occurrence in these types of families. I was surprised not to see an appearance of Danny Dyer in the background. But if they would have cast Dyer in the lead male role, the film would be very different. Michael Fassbender, recognised as the Englishman in Inglorious Basterds, is brilliant here. Shows his true acting chops by pulling this film about chav culture into a heart warming tale of growing up and not always rebelling. He plays the character well giving him a personality of sliminess and general affection for children, and his pushing for their future and career, especially the lead character Mia, played by first time actor Katie Jarvis.

At times in the film, Jarvis plays the role to perfection, capturing that teen angst where she quickly switches from enjoying her time to hating every person in sight, but after a little while, it runs thin, and becomes boring. We all know teenagers can sometimes be emotional swings, but not everyone is like this. Some of her characteristics annoyed me, like her random drinking at ridiculous hours of the day. Seriously, i never did that. The relationship between her and her gobby, smoking little sister was not much of great value because the little sister got to swear and shout a lot. It’s annoying after a little while, but the film does have some touching and funny scenes. It has a mix of both of heartbreak and tenderness wrapped around a working class family, living in a shithole, where dance and relationships seems to be the only release. It’s different to most of the British cinema kitchen sink dramas like Danny Boyle or Shane Meadows films because of its unique style. Harking back to classic British films like Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, it does show the stereotypical working class family, the drinking, smoking and fighting lifestyle but it gives these characters quirks that have not been seen or used before. It’s a great little British film but hopefully in the DVD release, will get a massive push and sales and people will get to see Andrea Arnold in action.

7/10

Simon Childs

Draining the blood of the recent fascination with Vampires

Thirst – Park Chan Wook

Director of Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, Park Chan Wook, creates a new outstanding piece of cinema in the similar vein and style which he’s known. Making South Korean cinema internationally known is a difficult task, but his work has travelled around the globe and most people in the “film know”, would easily cite Oldboy as one of the best films of recent years. His new film, Thirst again shows this directors ability in bringing new and exciting structures to cinema. Using influences from Hollywood directors, mixing with his culture and creating pieces that stick with the viewer. Scenes of distress and hurt are crafted with beauty, exploring themes of the human tolerance of violence. With Thirst, a common theme in entertainment recently with Vampires becoming a part of the film, TV and book worlds, for some, this film would be cashing in on this phenomenon. But in fact, it’s a breath of fresh air. It brings to the vampire genre, a horror twist, one that asks the viewer the real questions of this “disease” or “disorder” of only surviving on blood and never being able to come out during the day. It changes lives. Most people see vampires as cool or sexy people, who are young and enjoying it. Not Thirst.

The film follows Sang-hyun (played brilliantly by Song Kang-ho, whom you might recognise from The Host, another film you must see), a priest who after recovering from a deadly virus, finds that after a blood transfusion, becomes a vampire and must steal blood to stop the virus appearing. He begins an affair with a girl from a local family, which in the end, ends up with him killing the girl’s husband. The film has twists and turns and physiologically, it’s a mind fuck. The scenes with blood and the different methods Sang-hyun uses to kill will shock people. But this film is categorised in horror first and foremost.

I highly recommend checking this film out, giving a first taste into South Korean cinema. It’s a strange movement of films that are appearing using elements of violence, sexual desire and making the audience feel uncomfortable. Thirst has several scenes of sex that seem to last a long time. Now I’m not against having this in films, but I find that sometimes it can be used for the wrong reasons. In Thirst, they use it to show the struggle between the main characters, in the lust for blood. And remember, don’t watch it with the parents; the uncomfortable levels will sky rocket into unfamiliar territories!

7/10

Simon Childs

Trailer Watch V

30th January - 6th February

Hey sports fans, another selection of trailers coming your way this week. Already a month since this site was launched, we've got loads of fans and regular readers so keep up the reading and we'll keep up the writing!

1. Date Night



2. Macgruber



3. Mother



4. Buried



5. Shrek Forever After

When Saw gets political...

Saw 6 - Kevin Greutert

Having a drill caving your skull in is probably what most viewers get when they watch the recent Saw films, that or either a massive boner from the amount of violence. The Saw franchise have just become a yearly regime where in October, teenage boys get to take girls there, and in the dark, feel them up as they scare them in horror on the screen. Everyone knows this happens, I bet even the directors know this as they come up for another excuse to make a Saw film. The next one will be 3D, after that, what? What other gimmick or storyline could they throw in there? Jigsaw is fucking dead, let me die, and stop giving him people who were on his side but never revealed it. It’s boring and tiresome. And I can honestly say I really enjoyed Saw, the original, the first, the one with the new concept and interesting plot twists. The ones after become tired routines of violence and woman, and screaming and the now obvious plot twists. It’s as bad as some of M Night Shyamalan’s plot twists. You can see them from a mile away.

The plot goes as following, some people die in horrific ways, one of these people is the main guy who goes through challenges to try and save himself along with others. It ends up messy and bloody, whilst the police guy who worked for Jigsaw is acting all menacing and still isn’t getting found out by the police, they are really shit in this film, can’t solve anything! I know I’m not really caring about what I put about the plot, but I doubt you’ll wanna see this film voluntarily or when really drunk. It doesn’t matter about the plot, it matters about the deaths. The new, exciting ways to kill a human being. My personal favourite was the guy who has chemicals pumped into his body with spikes through his back and you see his body melt away. Lovely. There is a strange underlining theme of the US health insurance problems, but it feels outdated. They try to make Jigsaw’s killings reason of how an insurance company won’t insure people with illness, even if a cold. It’s disappointing that they think they could do this. But a real theme in a film like this.

If you want a decent horror experience, check out the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Friday The 13th or even modern day horror films like Drag Me To Hell, the Japanese Ring and the Evil Dead trilogy, well they are not really horror films, but still if you haven’t watched them, go to the your nearest Blockbuster and rent them! Or just buy them online. Do it now. I beg you. Stop reading this review of a shitty film and go and watch the films. Your still wasting your time here reading a Saw 6 review when you could be watching the almighty Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi’s cinema master class. GO!

3/10

Simon Childs

Spider-Man versus Donnie Darko!

Brothers - Jim Sheridan

I feel sorry for both of these actors, Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal. They will forever be known for one role, well maybe not, I can’t see into the future, but right now, it seems that the roles that have next won’t be as big as these. Maybe Jake will with Prince of Persia, but I don’t see it being as successful as Spider-Man. But both of these actors are a-grade performers, people who are at the top of their game, ones who can carry films, people who when you think of movie icons, these are the current generation. And with Brothers, you can see why they have their acting accolades, not just in action films, but emotionally serious drama pieces. Both actors perform here out of their skin. It’s one of these films that might fall out of public eye for a little eye, but it will be one of those that are a turning point for both actors. The casting was perfect. The relationships are believable. I’m a massive fan of Natalie Portman, so nothing bad to say about her in the film. Nothing!

The film follows Sam and Tommy, brothers, one in the military who is stationed to Afghanistan and the other recently coming out of prison. After Sam’s helicopter crashes whilst out on duty, he is presumed dead, and Sam’s wife, played by Natalie Portman, Grace is devastated by the news. Tommy begins to become closer to the family and help around the house. He gets closer to the children too, and of course Grace. The cheeky scoundrel. Whilst Tommy and Grace become close, Sam meanwhile, taken hostage by a group of terrorists, experience horror and starvation. In the end, Sam is found by American troops but his scars are seen and his behaviour changes. The film suddenly turns from being a strange romantic comedy with Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman and turns into an aggressive statement on war and the effect it has on the soldiers when they return. Maguire plays it to a tie; his attitude to change his body weight in order to make the role more believable adds another dimension to it. Compared to say, Christian Bale in The Machinist and the weight loss there, it’s not the same, it’s not as noticeable, but Maguire still has a very mean look about him. It’s differentiates between the loveable rogue of Gyllenhaal’s character and Sam, who at the beginning of the film plays like Peter Parker.

Overall, a solid film with good performances, it’s not for one for the lists of films of the year, but it’s a great start for the actors to become used to having the awards poured over them.

7/10

Simon Childs

A Cross Between Crash Bandicoot and Call Of Duty!

Gamer - Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor

This out-of-control, explosion riddled action film comes as a fresh new idea to the genre and to the cinema at the moment, with a film like this not seen recently. Taking chunks out of past action films like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, classic 80’s and 90’s action films, Gamer appears as a new version, featuring huge explosions, immense gun fights, an interesting universe the story is set and a group of scary looking characters thrown in to create a hour and a half of mental fucking action. Just great popcorn stuff. It’s simple, and it knows it. It just wants you to enjoy the ride. And I admire it. It’s never going to win any awards, it’s not hoping to “change” you, sure it has a message of what will happen if we become technological dependant and the future of the world in this state, but it also makes fun of the fact of people who play video games and what would happen if the barriers are removed and the length people go to to have more of a interactive experience. Just take the recent release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Holy shit, that game is crazy awesome. The amount of people you can kill and do extraordinary things to would of shocked people 50 years ago. Even the online experience, bouts of extreme racism, sexism and just general horridness is heard on a daily bases, some of these people who play are just downright thugs, who I would imagine would love to actually kill someone.

The film’s plot revolves around the world becoming revolutionised in the form of the gaming industry. Dexter, sorry Michael C. Hall’s character Ken Castle has created video games that use nanocells in the brain to function, creating a real life world, where the player controls real people. One of these games, Slayers, has Kable (Gerald Butler) as one of the playable characters; all of the characters are death row inmates who, if they survive their 30th match, they get freedom. Kable is controlled by a teenager in his house, who is on his 27th win and Ken Castle begins to change the game where it would be impossible for a normal person to win, but with Kable becoming aware of his player, and the teenager and the character working together, they can win the game. The film also involved a family angle, where Kable’s wife is also in the gaming world, but in a different game. Almost like a real life Sims game. It’s horrible to watch and horrible to think about. Look out for a strange cameo from the one and only Peter Petrelli. Yes, it’s really him! You also have Ludacris play a mercenary who is against the gaming and the use of real people and helps with Kable escape. Check it out really to get the whole thing. It’s simple to watch, on paper to describe, bit wordy.

Overall, a decent ride for what it’s worth. I would recommend seeing it with a group of friends, having a few drinks, getting silly and rocking it out. Similar to the directors past work of Crank and Crank 2, hilariously great action films. Jason Statham I love you.

6/10

Simon Childs

There is a film that will never go out...

(500) Days of Summer – Marc Webb

With the reference to The Smiths in the title, you know this film has had impact on me. So much so where i can safely say i will be buying the soundtrack and the DVD when it comes out. I’ll tell my friends to buy them both. I’ll tell my family to buy them. I’ll even tell total strangers about (500) Days of Summer because it deserves it. It deserves to be known. It’s a romantic comedy made for any audience. It’s not catered just for women, it’s for men too. And for that, i salute it. It has the balls to say no to the stereotypes, yeah, sure it may have good looking leads in typically situations and everything, there is the loving part and then there is the hate or the chase, but it does it in the perspective of the man. It’s rare. It’s on par with The Notebook. Yeah, it’s that good.

So the story is of a intelligent, geeky writer in a greeting cards company, played by the immensely talented Joseph Gordon Levitt, named Tom Hansen. The film’s structure is very linear and follows throughout the relationship of Tom and Summer in 500 days. The plot switches to different times in the relationship from day 26 to day 450 and so forth. Summer Finn, played by the gorgeous Zooey Deschanel, is introduced into Tom’s life as his boss’s new assistant. After an instant attraction for her, he begins to woo her. The film tells the story of the relationship, through the highs and lows. It may be a very simple plot. But it’s cleverly told with parts that haven’t been used before in romantic comedies. It stomps on those clichés and delivers an honest piece of American filmmaking.

The influences from the music is clearly shown throughout, using references to popular culture and featuring a soundtrack full of a mix of emotional songs throughout the ages including new hits such as The Temper Trap, a song that was my song of 2009. It fitted perfectly. Marc Webb, an unknown name to many people, but his work is mainly based in music videos from the Used to Yellowcard to many, many names. He recently has been snapped up for the reboot of Spider-Man, something I’m shocked about, but if there was anyone who could capture the teenage angst with being a superhuman and having to let go of his personal life, Webb could be the one to do it. More based on the recent Spider-Man animation and comics involving Peter Parker in his younger years, it could well be a surprise hit. I hope he takes the wonderful and delicate film that is (500) Days of Summer and turns into Spider-Man, the less emo version.

8/10

Simon Childs

Trailer Watch IV

22nd - 29th January

Here is another batch of worthwhile trailers, hopefully in the next couple of weeks, this summers blockbuster films should release some new stuff along with film festival choices from Sundance too.

1. The Karate Kid



2. Valentine's Day



3. Repo Men



4. She's Out Of My League



5. Greenzone

Defiantly more than a “plane” film! (Plain spelt like plane, comedy genius)

Up In The Air - Jason Reitman

Instantly after watching this film, you can understand the amount of awards it got in a wide range of categories. It’s a great film with a clever, twisting, and unique story and structure. The performances are world class, which you will expect from the likes of George Clooney, the recognisable Vera Farmiga and the unrecognisable Anna Kendrick, all three put in performances of their career but it’s the direction that is top here. Jason Reitman, a name now which should be familiar to everyone in the film business and who have an interest in cinema. This being his third feature length film, it’s an evolution that was obvious from his amazing first film, Thank You For Smoking, which lamented his skill and precision of the camera work and editing. Juno was his next film, which was funny and charming and directed perfectly, getting performances from Ellen Page, Michael Cera and Jennifer Gardener to create a realistic tale of pregnancy and growing up. Up In The Air is the combination of his last two efforts, combining a political message, with humour, romance, and a style which we can all now call Reitman’s.

Up In The Air is the story of George Clooney’s character Ryan Bingham, a travelling employee of a company which travels to different companies and fires staff for them. In his spare time he is also a motivational speaker which helps with the job. He travels a lot, and it’s an underestimate, nearly 10 million miles, and he’s proud of the fact he is always hoping off planes and airports and not having one place to live. After many years of working this young, a young female rookie, fresh faced from university generates a new way to fire the employees in a quicker and easier manner, which involved getting rid of Ryan’s flying and his style of doing the job. The new structure would use computer technology and eliminate the personal touch. Ryan asks to show the young woman who thinks she can take away Ryan’s job, a few weeks on the job, going from city to city firing people. Natalie Keener played excellently by Anna Kendrick, goes about seeing what Ryan does. It’s tough to sit through and she soon realises that Ryan’s job is difficult and having that personal touch would be better. Along the way Ryan meets Alex, played by Vera Farmiga, a great pairing and a clear connection between these two actors, Alex is also a frequent flyer, they begin a casual relationship, which throughout the film becomes more. Along the way Natalie becomes more connected to Ryan, opening up to him about her latest break up and showing emotions and Ryan also attends his sister’s wedding. It has a beautiful ending, which is not predictable which I found refreshing. The film could have gone in several directions, but it’s tied up nicely at the end.

I highly recommend this film, I really do, it’s something different, something that will defiantly be remembered in the future, if not for George Clooney’s finest performance or for the start of Jason Reitman’s career from being an indie director to being a Hollywood legend. Look out for his name in the future, clearly the new Martin Scorsese, but less about gangs, more about real people in real situations.

8/10

Simon Childs

Did you see that? When his head just crumbled! I just threw up in my mouth...

Halloween 2 – Rob Zombie

...

I’m going to just take a breather for a little while. Wow. I’m shocked, I’m utterly shocked. Please go see Halloween 2. It’s fucking gruesome. You don’t expect it to be that bad. Go see the uncensored version. This must be at least 10 times worse than the cinema cut. No way could they add some of the scenes in there. I’ve seen Hostel. I’ve seen Saw. I’ve seen old horror movies, ones where you can’t buy them anymore because of how horrible they are. And I don’t mind them. But this really wants me just to sit down and evaluate film making and most importantly my life. It has scenes that will shock you to the core. The deaths of certain characters in the film are used for effect, almost amped up by Zombie from the first Halloween remake film he directed.

H2 tells the story of Laurie Strode, a year after the massacre by Michael Myers, trying to live her life again and not in fear of Michael’s return. She’s seen to be mentally unstable, having troublesome nightmares and terrors whilst taking prescription drugs to help with her panicked state. Whilst Laurie is getting back on track, Michael is still alive. This time he is having strange visions of his dead mother and is being told to find Laurie. Michael goes on search for her, along the way killing a few innocent people, farmers, strip club owners, strippers, teenagers, police officers; he kills a lot of people to find Laurie. Dr. Loomis meanwhile is publicising his latest book about Michael and what happened in the past. These three stories are interacting to form the backbone to the film, all of them rejoining at the end for the last sequence.

The whole storyline with Michael having a psychological connection to Laurie is very thin bare and isn’t explained well enough. It makes the story into a fairytale almost, the way that they expect the audience to totally understand that they can see each other in their minds, kinda like Voldemort and Harry Potter, but you know; one’s a famous horror film series and the other a kid’s magical tale of wizards. H2 takes away Michael’s unnerving willingness to fuck shit up, but makes it seem pointless, where the kills are random and not inventive, more gruesome. Plus seeing his face slowly starts appearing as the mask begins to disintegrate is a nice touch but Michael is just a mask to me. Same as Jason, all I want from these villains is to stand there, look terrifying, show no emotions and kill to find something. Not just randomly but almost on a mission that they must finish, even if it means killing thousands of children to do it.

4/10

Simon Childs

Trailer Watch III

14th - 21st January

Here are another weeks worth of trailers for your liking, remember, if you want to see them properly, heard over to the Apple Trailer website:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/

1. Clash Of The Titans



2. Hot Tub Time Machine



3. 44 Inch Chest



4. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time



5. Despicable Me

Megan Fox, Monsters and Marmite?

Jennifer's Body - Karyn Kusama

I think this is the first review where I’m really unsure whether to like or hate Jennifer’s Body. I came into the film expecting not much, just a teen slasher film with clever dialogue and sexy actors. I pretty much got that but told in an unusual way. It defiantly is a curve ball. The direction is there, the dialogue is there, the music is spot on, the acting is okay, as expected, but there is something different about it. Something that is very hard to pinpoint. It’s hard to really enjoy the film, because i think i went into the film expecting it to be rubbish, I expected the film to be bad, but i was wrong, i think.

The film follows “Needy” played by Amanda Seyfried, a total departure from her last film, Mamma Mia, which I’ve never seen and never will. Needy is beat friends with Jennifer, played by the face, Megan Fox. I would say actor, but she doesn’t act, she just flaunts, which is great. I’m not knocking it, but it works. She knows she has the effect over the audience. Something very similar to Marilyn Monroe. So after seeing a band perform at a local bar, Jennifer becomes a demon after a sacrifice went horribly wrong. She starts killing and eating local boys and Needy finds out. All nastiness and sometimes hilarity ensues with Needy and Jennifer going back and forth about what’s going on. A nice cameo from Seth Cohen, sorry Adam Brody, and an annoying boyfriend of Needy, plus a cameo, which some people might have missed, J Jonah Jameson as a school teacher. The film follows Needy throughout the whole debacle; it’s an okayish narrative which is different for a teen slasher film, with dark comedy thrown in, in the way of the dialogue.

It does have the through back to older horror films in the way of the special effects and everything and it’s a nice touch. It does have the feeling of being a b-movie. I guess that’s the style they were trying to achieve. Comparing this film to current horror films with twists of comedy, it does it more focused on a teen audience, having references to culturally significant thing, but it doesn’t carry it over in the way of action. The audience know what’s going to happen even before they show it. Audiences want something totally different, something never seen before, like showing a car crash. A horrific car crash where say, for comedy value, it smashes into a cow. And then it would show the crash and it would hold onto a shot of one of the drivers. With say, his face, like in half, just crushed from the impact. How amazing would that be? I would love to see a director put that in a film! (Next review is Halloween 2!)

6/10

Simon Childs

Christian Bale Shouting: The Motion Picture

Terminator Salvation - McG

Now I’m a big fan of the Terminator series, even the third one, I know many of you would gasp at that fact, but I liked the fun it had, I liked the light hearted humour, the terrible acting from Arnie, but I still enjoyed it. I think it was one of the first DVD’s I ever brought; very sad indeed. But Terminator 1 and 2 were legendary films, films that will never be forgotten. And here we are now, looking into the future at the war between Man versus Machine. Something we thought we would never see. And now, directed by McG, yes the name does make him sound like a twat, but he is good at doing what he does best, blowing shit up and making people shout a lot.

The film picks up a little more after number 3 where John Connor and his wife were locked in an underground bunker whilst the world fought against Skynet, the massive corporation who build machines to kill everyone. It’s apocalypse basically; shit is defiantly hitting the fan. John and the resistance are trying to figure out the best way to finally put an end to Skynet. After finding a signal that seems to disrupt the machines and switch them off, they begin to figure out the best route of action. Whilst this is happening, Marcus, a man who is built as a machine with human flesh and organs, awakes in the future to find the world a mess. Resistance members are scattered around cities and Marcus is trying to figure out what’s going on. He meets Kyle Reece, a key figure in this whole series, as the father to John Connor, so the film turns from being a machine versus man future war epic into a travelling film where Marcus travels to different places looking for answers where he finally meets John Connor and they both figure out a plan to destroy Skynet once and for all.

You can pretty much figure out the rest of the film, and includes a strange but cool cameo from Arnie, well his face, not his actual body. The fight with him is very similar to all the fights in Terminator, it has to be in a really disgusting place, a factory of the robots, lots of strange sounds and what you would imagine to smell like a cross between an old shoe shop and an alley full of piss. The films action sequences are cool, on a full-scale, large explosions, cool CGI and everything, the full works. This is what they wanted from this film, focus on the machines, and make them out to be horrible things that destroy places with ease. It’s less about the humans and the dialogue and more about the action. It’s very unbalanced.

One good thing about the film is performances from Anton Yelchin and Sam Worthington, which stragenly enough is better here than in Avatar. Anton, famous for his role in Star Trek and Charlie Bartlett, a great little indie film, plays a likeable role in Kyle Reece, the starter of all this shit and the father of John Connors. Even if the role is small, it’s believable, and shows a real human in a situation like this. He’s given little comedic lines and lines from the past films to link them, but they could of given him more. If they wanted him to be the comedy of the film, it didn’t work.

5/10

Simon Childs

Letters From The TV Front

Burn Notice Season 1

Feel the burn

We’ve all heard of them; Prison break, Heroes, Lost, 24. They are the American TV shows that made it big in the UK. Picked up by Sky, Channel 4 and the BBC, these are the shows deemed exciting enough to cross the pond. But in this week’s letter, we turn our screens to a lesser known gem of TV delight, USA network’s Burn Notice. Burn Notice follows the recent times of Michael Weston (Jeffery Donovan), a freelance spy working for a major American agency. While on assignment in Nigeria however, he receives word that he’s been “burned”, a term used by governments when a spy’s employment is terminated. The introduction to the series puts it nicely: “When you’re burned, you’ve got nothing. No cash, no job history and you’re stuck in whatever place they decide to dump you”; In Weston’s case, his home town of Miami. The series revolves around jobs Michael takes from ordinary people, using his super-spy skills to battle car thieves, con men, gangsters and the occasional Ukrainian assassin while continuing the wider story arc – trying to find out who burned him, and why.

It’s a fresh take on a classic story – the spy left out in the cold. But the charm of this series is brought by the superb mix of cool spy action and the people in Michael’s life: “A trigger happy ex-girlfriend (Gabrielle Anwar), an old friend who’s informing to the FBI (The legendary Bruce Campbell), family too . . . if you’re desperate”. It’s a tongue in cheek look at the life of an ex spy – juggling old friends, avoiding his mother and trying to earn money all the while jumping from windows, getting shot at and creating ridiculous spy contraptions (MacGyver Style). My personal favourite part of the series is the helpful tips Michael gives as part of the first person narration. Things like “Bathrooms are the best environment for hand to hand combat. . .lots of hard surfaces” and one of my personal favourites: “When you can't win in a fight, sometimes you have to settle for making sure that if you lose, everyone loses. It works for nuclear weapons; it works for me.” These golden nuggets of espionage information give the show a cool flavour and make you wonder just how the writers get this stuff (Tips also include ways to make phoney cheques and how to deliver a convincing mail bomb).

In the end, like I say, it’s the characters that make this series. The action from episode to episode keeps you entertained, but the personalities of the people keep you coming back for more. Just a word of advice: In the first episode, Fiona’s accent is hideous and Michael’s mother grates on your nerves. But don’t fear, they sort that out in the next episode right as rain!

Rating (If you’re into that sort of thing): 100%

SMT

An Acid trip whilst watching The Blue Man Group

Avatar - James Cameron

Just to start off I did watch Avatar a few weeks ago and I’ve just come around to reviewing it so it’s gonna sound a little off in places. But overall, it’s outstanding. A film that will revolutionise cinema. And recently, entertainment, with news that TV’s made in 2010 will all be 3-D possible. An achievement along the lines of the first film with sound, colour and widescreen. It’s up there with HD viewing. All thanks to James Cameron and his dream. Many years it took to make Avatar, inventing new types of filmmaking equipment to produce a quality piece of cinema. And many years to come before a big film like Avatar will be made.

The story is complex and for that Cameron gives the audience the courtesy of knowing this. He doesn’t hold back, he doesn’t dumb down. It’s something unseen recently with big action films, even science fiction action like this. The story takes place in the future where valuable sources are running thin and a company, the one owned by Parker Selfridge, the corporate administrator for the RDA mining operation (played by Giovanni Ribisi), has led an army and scientists to Pandora, a huge planet with the habitable creatures named the Na’vi. The homeland of these creatures contains invaluable material which the company want and need but the Na’vi will not give up. Throughout the years, scientists have tried to integrate with these creatures but have failed until they produce an avatar. A body which a human can control that’s in the form of a Na’vi. Sam Worthington plays one of these avatars’, Jake Sully, a former marine, who after the loss of his legs and brother, takes over the duties of being the controller of a Na’vi and begins to integrate with the creatures to help them move away from the invaluable materials and not cause any harm. After Sam falls in love with one of the Na’vi, he begins to understand their way of life, whilst Miles Quaritch, a security contractor who heads the mining operation's security detail, wants to blow the whole place up just to grab what is his, his fat pay-check. After some lovely action sequences with wild creatures, and Sam learning to become “one” of the them, shit hits the fan when the army general bombs the city centre of the Na’vi, killing thousands. Sam must then decide if he is a part of the Na’vi or on the army’s side. I won’t give away the ending, but it’s pretty obvious what happens.

One gripe I have with it, which I can’t give it it’s 9, is its lead actor Sam Worthington. A great actor perhaps, but seeing him in both Terminator Salvation and Avatar, I don’t think he is ready to lead a film. In the scale of actors who can front a film, he is closely behind Chris Pine, someone on the cusp of stardom, a little push, more range involved, he can be the next Christian Bale or Jake Gyllenhaal. The film does have an emotional pull which does draw you in, certain scenes near the end with deaths of main characters, it shocks and it pulls at the heart strings. This film changed cinema, and I think that’s great, but on the scale of science fiction films, looking at this and District 9, for the amount of money spent on District 9 compared to Avatar, I still believe that District 9 is a better film. More enjoyable. But the 3-D aspect of Avatar is worthwhile, I would defiantly check it out for something you’ve never seen before and the way the detail in every shot astounds the experience, you can almost hear the gasp of the shots of Pandora.

8.5/10

If you like this, you'll love this: District 9, Titantic, Alien, Star Wars, The Dark Knight, Star Trek

Simon Childs

Little Girls with Guns and Certifiably Insane Teenagers with Delusions of Grandeur: An Early Review of “Kick-Ass”

In the early days of November 2009 I received a phone call from a friend of mine, who was enthusiastically telling me that he had just received two tickets to a special preview screening of this year’s latest comic book adaptation, “Kick-Ass”. My friend, knowing full well a) how much I love comic books, b) how much I enjoy Mark Millar’s work (the writer of the Kick-Ass comic book) and c) how much I love the Kick-Ass comic book, decided to invite me along with him to the screening after he was approached in Forbidden Planet (the branch in Central London is the veritable mother ship of comic book stores in the UK) by a man with a clipboard simply giving the aforementioned tickets away. It appears my friend owes me a debt of gratitude after I immersed him into the world of comics, a debt that has now been paid in full! Even though I was at University at the time, mid-week, I still got a train over to London to see this bad boy – and man, was it worth it. Escorted into a BAFTA screening room near Piccadilly Circus, seated with around 70 of the similarly-approached public, with Hollywood execs being escorted in behind us, I was thoroughly gripped by the excitement of it all – this being my first preview screening.

Before I go into my opinion of the almost-finished cut of the film I saw, let me first introduce the brief history of the comic book, its writer and its fast track to the big screen. Currently only on it’s 7th issue, the first issue of Kick-Ass was released in April 2008 – for a comic this young to already be a feature film is unheard of. Unless, of course, the writer of the comic is Mark Millar, a Scottish-born writer whose other creator-owned work, Wanted, has been turned into the very successful film starring Angelina Jolie. When “Wanted” was a hit at the box office, Hollywood started going crazy for a number of other Mark Millar projects – the first to be completed, “Kick-Ass”.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, of “Layer Cake” and “Stardust” fame, and starring relative newcomer Aaron Johnson (who can currently be seen in the John Lennon in-his-youth film “Nowhere Boy”, garnering rave reviews) alongside Nicholas Cage and a current favourite of mine, Mark Strong – this film knocked my ruddy socks off. The story centers around your average comic book reading American teenager, Dave Lizewski. Dave has suddenly found himself asking why no one has ever tried to be a superhero like in the comics, to which his answer is to buy a wetsuitand start prowling the streets dealing out his own brand of justice. His name? “Kick-Ass”. Of course, the irony of the situation is that it is he who gets his ass kicked, more often than not, what with having no training or outstanding physical strength. Along the way he gets caught up in the dealings of a mobster (Mark Strong) and his son (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), and two other vigilantes, named Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and Hit-Girl (the revelation that is Chloe Moretz). Violence, hilarity and genuine awesomeness ensue. I won’t give away too much of the story, as I don’t really need to.

What I will tell you is that Aaron Johnson is one to watch. Unlike a lot of other British teenagers, he can actually act – and not only that, but he can put on a thoroughly convincing American accent. Not an easy feat, as even Ray Winstone had trouble with that in “The Departed”. Johnson is entirely believable as one of those archetypal, Peter Parker high school nobodies, which makes for a nice change of pace when one of those archetypal, Peter Parker high school nobodies finally gets fed up and decides to stop being a victim. Of course, the results are less than desirable for the character, but as entertainment, it’s, well... entertaining! It was also an easy pill for me to swallow – there’s got to be someone out there crazy enough to put on a costume and go out there and get his ass kicked.

Nicholas Cage turns in one of his better roles in recent years, as the certifiable ex-cop out for vengeance against the mob, but the real star of the show is Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl, Cage’s character’s 11-year old daughter who he trains to fight crime alongside him. She has a lot of attitude, uses a lot of bad language, and kicks a lot of ass. It’s just insanely fun to watch a little girl kick, stab, shoot and punch her way through an endless supply of generic gangsters. Trust me, she’s probably the best bit of the film. Moretz is an insanely talented actor – I recently rewatched “(500) Days of Summer”, where she popped up as Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s wise-beyond-her-years little sister, a role she was great in.



There isn’t really anything more to say of the directing than the fact that it’s just good. Nothing really special; Vaughn does the job and does it well. Although, the use of a lot of bright colours really gives the whole affair a very tongue-in-cheek feel. There is one standout scene that I won’t ruin here, but it is very well constructed, in which Hit-Girl is attempting to rescue Big Daddy and Kick-Ass – I can say no more, but it’s awesomely done (even if Cage slightly hams up the acting).

The interesting thing I found about this not-as-yet-finished cut of the film was the soundtrack. I wasn’t sure if the soundtrack had not yet been composed, or if this was the way the film was meant to be – but instead of its own score, it had the well-known theme songs of a lot of other superhero and genre films. I recognised the themes from “Superman”, “Spider-Man”, “The Dark Knight”, and “28 Days Later”. The thing is, it worked really, really well. Because of the idea that this kid is so influenced by the comic books that he reads that he decides to become one, so too is the film so influenced by other superhero/genre films that it uses the well-known songs from them too. It’s awesome to watch Hit-Girl jump around killing bad guys to the Hans Zimmer “Dark Knight” theme. I’m hoping they keep it that way when the release date rolls around in April.

The story moves along at a breakneck pace, culminating in a very cool shootout in the mobster’s penthouse apartment that needs to be seen to be believed. What’s notable is the animated origin story of Big Daddy and Hit-Girl, drawn in the style of John Romita, Jr – the legendary comic book artist who pencils the comic. Clearly influenced by the scene in “Kill Bill” before it, the version I saw was not yet completed (probably the only part of the film that didn’t look finished) so I can’t really comment. It did, however, look awesome, even in its principle stages.

One distraction was Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Fogel/McLovin from “Superbad”). The character he plays, Chris D’Amico, is very different from his iteration from the comics. In the film, he is very slapsticky; almost a joke character. Which, I guess I kinda expect as it is McLovin. I would’ve liked to see whoever plays Chris D’Amico (and his alter ego... Red Mist) be a little bit more badass, a better foil for Dave Lizewski. But at this stage, it’s nitpicking, as the character still kind of works in the context of the film. It just works better in the comics.

As for fans of the comics, you have nothing to worry about – the film is very faithful, up to a point, and the point at which they take it in another direction works. Let’s not forget, this is a film – not a comic. It can’t be exactly the same, and the creative liberties they have taken (which Mark Millar signed off on) are entirely understandable. They’re not even that drastic – I mean, we still have Hit-Girl calling some hoodlums “c*nts” and then killing them all with samurai swords, for chrissakes.

VERDICT: 4 asses kicked out of 5! Check it out when it’s released all over the world on the 16th of April! Don’t take your kids.

ALSO SEE: Any comic book movie ever made. “Kick-Ass” is, after all, a loving tribute to all of them.

TRAILER: http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/kickass/

Dan Woburn

This Is Sparta!...wait, no, it isn't, it's more like Brixton

The Ugly Truth - Robert Luketic

The truth hurts, and for this film, the truth about to told may hurt as much as it did to watch. First and foremost, I’m partial to certain romance films, The Notebook for instance, a brilliantly told story which is funny and enjoyable, most recently, unusual romantic films like (500) Days of Summer and Lars and The Real Girl, different in their approach, but great. This film hurts so much it made me want to actually go out, find a pack of sharks, place lasers on their heads (very similar to the scene in Austin Powers) and dump pretty much all of the people involved into the tank, to see them get ripped limb from limb. Yes, it hurt that much. Well except for Gerald Butler. He seems kinda badass. I like him, but not in this film. His terrible accent does not go down well.

It was obvious from the start, two good looking leads, both on the different spectrum of relationships, one more about sex, the other about love. Butler plays a man who talks about the “truth” of relationships with women and about how to be treated; Heigl plays a producer on the show, who at first hates him, but then uses his advice to woo a man. Simple as. It was clear that these two would end up together, it would of really changed everything if Butler just turned into his character in 300 right at the end and rampaged everyone on screen. Now I would personally fund that film, just Butler crashing through walls, killing people with his bare hands as everyone is crying and screaming for help. With maybe the soundtrack of Katy Perry in the background. As the lyrics for Hot N’ Cold match up with the action, it would send me into a fit of happiness.

Now the soundtrack also hurt me alot. It’s a simple formula, include tracks people know, gain interest, and in the romantic scenes have slower indie songs that emit emotions like The Fray or One Republic. I was surprised no James Morrison, James Blunt or Paolo Nutini was played. I was expecting it. And even worse, the song for the credits. Now imp a music fan, I like to think I’m “with” it, but seriously, Flo-rida? That song come out like two years or something ridiculous, been used in countless films and televisions shows. It almost made me throw up in anger.

Overall, this film is dreadful. I would suggest watching it though for laughs, it’s so bad it’s good. Many films don’t do that, but this is bad. I can see it instantly being on sale for £3 in HMV. Buy it for girlfriends or ex-girlfriends. If she says she loves it, dump her, please. She needs to learn about good cinema and good filmmaking. Heigl and Butler are good actors, no doubt, Heigl did great in Knocked Up, and Grey’s Anatomy, and Butler with 300, even Reign of Fire, plus I’m looking forward to seeing Gamer and Law Abiding Citizen, I like Butler as the action hero, not the guy in romance films, the rugged fella who woos the stuck ladies by being rude. It doesn’t suit him. So please, stay away from this film, only if you want to use it as a way to get into your unlucky girlfriends dirty knickers, then all means, plough through.

4/10

If you like this, you'll love: A Cinderella Story, Cruel Intentions, any modern day romantic film staring reasonable decent actors who do the film for money only.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1142988/

Simon Childs

Trailer Watch II

6th January - 13th January

Here are another batch of trailers that have been released recently. Check them out.

1. Robin Hood



2. Legion



3. Princess and the Frog



4. Kick-ass



5. Greenberg



Simon Childs

Letters From The Film Front

Sherlock Holmes - Guy Ritchie

What have we come to expect from Hollywood’s remakes of classic characters? Often we shield our eyes, and close our ears, lest our favourite literary characters be torn asunder by the wham, bam, thank you maam ways of glittering west coast producers. Since this film is full of A list celebrities and a range of window leaping, exploding, punching action you could be expected to write Sherlock Holmes off as bland and unimaginative. But you’d be wrong.

Sure, stuff explodes and they spend a lot of the film talking about magic and the mystery solution is wrapped up in about 2 minutes, but for sheer eccentric, full body acting you cannot beat Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of Holmes. Armed with a thick accent and a wardrobe full of white rags, Downey Jr steps into the role of arrogant genius, both flawed with fragility and strengthened by his rationality and plays it throughout. It is however, a shame that Jude Law stepped into the role of John Watson, who, though an excellent foil for Holmes, could have been played by anyone really.

Also disappointing was the epilogue, essentially the ending 10 minutes of the film, which see’s Holmes’ introduction to the malevolent Professor Moriarty (Who became Holmes’ rival throughout the book series). In an industry where sequels seem inevitable, it still seems hackneyed to insist on such a blatant set up and gives the film a clumsy feeling at the finish. Upon leaving the cinema, the feeling of closure that comes with the mystery’s solution fade, only to be left with impatience for the next film which, rather than being titillating, is irritating.

Likewise is the relationship between Holmes and his criminal ex-fiancé (Irene Adler), played by Rachel Mcadams; Once again a character as large and elaborate as Holmes seems to overshadow Adler even more so than Watson, which is unfortunate because her acting (for what the character demands) works.

The jokes, while mainly slapstick or insulting one liners are enhanced by Holmes’ arrogance, and my one complaint is that Downey sometimes speaks his lines so fast it made my brain hurt. The fight scenes are imaginative and, frankly, plentiful. And for what it’s worth, the voice over narration of Holmes’ process made the whole experience believable and human. It allowed for Guy Richie’s fighting, biting Holmes to mix with Conan Doyle’s methodical genius.

Let’s wrap things up. It’s a good film; the acting is carried by Downey Jr, the writing is witty enough to be engaging, and smart enough to feel authentic. It’s no Oscar winner and it won’t make you feel like you’re in Victorian London, but if you fancy a break from vampires in love or blue people at war then it’s a good way to spend an evening.

Rating (if you’re into that kind of thing) – 7.5/10

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988045/

SMT

Coming Soon: District 10 - Now It’s Personal!

District 9 – Neill Blomkamp

It would be pretty easy to make several South African jokes about the accent and try to put quotes in about the way he speaks, but I’m not going to swoop to that level now. I loved this film, along with many others who have made it their top of the year and given it great reviews. It beat a lot of massive budget films to top prizes and it deserves to. Made for a small amount of money ($30 million), it has helped the film industry to once again realise, that money can’t buy success, much like the Manchester City football club (zing).

Set around the ups and downs of Wikus, a human set in the world where aliens exist and have landed in South Africa, where after many years have lived in a boxed off area named District 9. Following Wikus as he works for a company named MMU, he sets about trying to evict the aliens from their slums into a new area, but unfortunately for him becomes diseased from a black spray which rapidly turns him into one of the creatures ,or “prawns”. The performance by the unknown actor Sharlto Copley is brilliant because of his likeability, he isn’t some dick who thinks he owns the film and all the attention must be on him. And considering all of his dialogue is not scripted and improvised its real acting and real cinema.

The movie starts off with a mockumentary style we’ve all seen, almost like an alien version of spinal tap. The MMU members joking around are intercut with interviews with various fake people with high positions. This style quickly changes once Wikus is attacked by the black spray. It becomes a science fiction-heavy, action-loaded movie with a spectacular shift in pace which I was first dazed by but feel in love with. You’ll quickly become in affection for the aliens, once you lose the whole, face like a prawn, weirdness about them. In this film, they are not the bad guys; they are not spitting acid at pregnant people, or ripping through people in jungles or make small children ride bicycles all day long.

What I also quite enjoy about the film is the themes of racism and xenophobia. It’s not done in a tacky way which makes you hate the film even more; it’s down in a sensible, emotional way, which does affect the audience, especially with the abuse to Christopher, the creature who helps Wikus throughout the film. The connections between this and Cloverfield are going to happen with science fiction films being lead into a different path. This was bound to happen, using the same linear structure, using the same techniques have become boring, three films that have changed this is Star Trek, Cloverfield and District 9. The lead up to the ending is some of the best cinema I’ve seen for years, I defiantly recommend checking it out. I hope there is a sequel, just not called District 10.

9/10

If you like this, you'll love: Cloverfield, Star Trek, Aliens, Them

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/

Simon Childs