Review: Looper

Looper is set in the future, about the future, and works. This smart film written and directed by Rian Johnson offers an interesting perspective on the classic time travel, and mob movie. In my experience a lot of time travel films have a troubled character whose life is made even more troubled through the introduction of said time travel. Sure, it does create a lot of problems for Joe (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and the older version by Bruce Willis) but he seems utterly accepting of the fact that there is indeed time travel. Using it as a body disposal tool as well seems almost obvious once you watch the movie yet I haven’t come across it in film before.

I couldn’t help but fall in love with the idiot Kid Blue, portrayed by Noah Segan. He’s an absolute dumbass, which Johnson doesn’t want you to forget, but you can help but admire his absolute determination to get the job done (even if he’s usually the reason it hasn’t been done yet).

This movie has even delivered me a new favourite line: “I’m from the future – you should go to China”. This one was delivered by future-boss-man Abe (Jeff Daniels). Not only does it deliver on lines, but the fate of Paul Dano’s character Seth. It’s a brutal yet fascinating montage, which earns a job well done by the special effects team. However, it appears they spent the budget on what happens to Seth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s face and ‘TK’ scenes with Sara (Emily Blunt) and the little (troubled) cutie, Cid (Pierce Gagnon), because watching those hover bike things riding along was painful!

I really wish there was more material on the Rainmaker, and that the scenes with the hover bikes weren’t so fake looking, but overall the movie is definitely worth 4/5.  

Review: Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows, originally based on a television series is a wonderfully dark and detailed film. The Tim Burton regular, Johnny Depp, plays Barnabas Collins, a man cursed to be a vampire by the jilted witch, Angelique, fantastically played by Eva Green. There is no doubt that this film was tremendously well cast. The Collins family is Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, mother to Carolyn, played by Chloë Grace Moretz in a wonderful hippie fashion. There is also brother to Elizabeth, Roger (Jonny Lee Miller), father to the supposedly troubled David (Gulliver McGrath) who is counselled by Dr. Julia Hoffman, who is none other than Helena Bonham Carter. Barabas’ love interest is played by rising Aussie talent, Bella Heathcote.

 I really liked how many different stories each character had. Burton could have easily spent another hour explaining their backstories, and franchising would be so easy with an immense amount of stories to base future instalments on. The details in this movie are fantastic. Without trying to spoil too much, my particular favourite detail was Angelique’s tear in one particular scene. You are immersed both within the gothic and the hippie vibe of this film.

Though the attention to detail is stunning, Dark Shadows was unable to impress in other areas. My main point of disappointment was the comedic aspects. This movie is obviously not a serious one, but it was sad to see some of the most humorous moments used up in the trailer. I also felt like I might not be totally grasping some of the jokes since I hadn’t seen the original series, or maybe it was a simple generational gap; the older couple sitting close to me in the theatre were happily cackling away, while all the under 30’s had the occasional laugh. The sex scene, however, was crazy and incredible (sadly a lot of this was shown in the trailer too).

Dark Shadows is definitely enjoyable, but there definitely felt like something was missing. The melodramatic acting was great and probably wouldn’t be so wonderful if done by other actors, but other comedic aspects failed to impress. I am giving Dark Shadows 3/5. 

I think this movie will be great for gif makers. If you see any that are good or you’ve recently made, send them my way!

Review: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Before the opening credits of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy even appear, you might find yourself thinking that it’s slow. This is an indication: if you want to enjoy the movie, pay attention.

The cinematography captured the atmosphere of the film perfectly. The dreary English weather reflected the mood within the Secret Intelligence Service and the film was packed with some of Britain’s finest stars who all delivered wonderful performances. One character that came across as underexplored is Roy Bland (portrayed by Ciarán Hinds). The lack of talk about him, and lack of screen time indicate that he was not considered a vital character by the film’s director, Tomas Alfredson, which only narrows down the list of potential the potential mole for the viewers.

That being said, the film also seems like it’s trying to compensate for not being able to cover all of the material written by John le Carré which just overly complicates things.

Gary Oldman as George Smiley was great but the characters that I felt the most connection to were Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) and Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy). They ultimately came across as the most human of characters and were willing to do what was expected of them, not what could gain the most advantage from, even if it meant breaking some rules.

The word “gripping” has been thrown about to describe this film, but is not a word I would use to describe it. I will admit that there were slow bits; parts where you will get lost in your own thoughts and miss a vital piece of information. It’s almost as if people are ashamed to say that they didn’t quite understand a part because they believe it will reflect on their intelligence. The thing to remember is that even if they are fictional, many of the characters themselves didn’t understand what it was that they had done. Also, as someone who has not read the original novel, there is an air to the film that suggests the book has many details that are needed for a complete understanding of the story.

What I admire about this film is its attempts to explore human vices, and I believe it is a very realistic portrayal of this, no matter how unique the story line may be to the majority of us.

Wonderful cinematography, a subtle, elegant score and great performances from some of Britain’s most well-known stars, but the plot seemed to be missing its spark. So it’s a 4/5 for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy from me.

What did you think of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy?

P.S. There was serious contemplation of a 3/5 but the atmosphere created by everything but the script was truly great. It’s just a shame that some more clarity wasn’t incorporated into the film. I just sat through it thinking I must have missed a whole load of clues. Some googling brought me up to speed on some of the finer details (particularly with that chess piece with just ‘Karla’ written on it. Apparently I missed every other reference to Karla, so watch out for mention of the name; it’s fairly important to being able to follow the story).

Review: Breaking Dawn Part 1

Though the books are a trilogy, the last book of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, has been split, giving us the movie Breaking Dawn Part 1. This seemed like a strange move, particularly as it looked inspired by a similar move of the incredibly popular Harry Potter franchise. As someone who has read all of Meyers Twilight series, the move also seemed strange as, essentially, the more interesting content of the book has all been left to part 1. What does this leave for part 2? Well, in the book the second half is comprised of an almost battle; the Volturi turns, up, they talk, a couple people die (due to being somewhat irrational, not as part of the bigger battle) then they realise, “No harm done.” All I can see in the future of part 2 is a script writer hoping for a lot of creative freedom.

Part 1 itself will please the Twihards. Large portions of the movie are taken up by not one, but two weddings, and that highly anticipated sex scene, feathers and all.  Kristen Stewart seems like she has been allowed to relax a little more which is great since she’s dulled down the awkward take on Bella. The work done by Lola Visual Effects (the very same who turned Chris Evans into a scrawny version of himself in Captain America) is really believable as they turn an already skinny Bella frighteningly thin. Robert Pattinson and the rest of the cast do a fine job, and they all come across as if they have grown more comfortable in their roles.

For Twilight haters, there’s still plenty of material that will have you squirming. One point that I found disappointing was that nothing had been done to improve the contact lenses; they’re very distracting, particularly on Irina, played by Maggie Grace. Twilight fans will be impressed though, and anyone just looking for something to watch won’t have too many problems.

Breaking Dawn Part 1 gets a 3/5. Make sure you stay til the very end too (of the credits); the Volturi make an appearance (they should just make an entire movie about them).

So what do you think?

Highly Anticipated: The Hunger Games

  The film adaption of the USA Today and New York Times Best Selling book The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is set released March next year. Posters featuring profile shots of some of the main players of the book, teaser and full length trailers (well, one) are already stirring up much excitement. The Vanity Fair photo shoot of the cast has been cleverly made interactive over on their website, giving details on the audition process, as well as key moments for the characters (be warned, if you were aiming to be surprised by either the novel or film, tread carefully when reading the information: spoilers!)

As well as many comparisons to other books and films (Battle Royale is one of the favourites for the trilogy to be compared to), and the idea that the trilogy will be the answer to the loss of the Harry Potter franchise and soon Twilight Saga,The Hunger Games is definitely a novel that can stand on its own feet, and hopefully the movie will be living up to this standard too. If you’re interested in reading the book series, don’t worry about the threat of the dreaded ‘love triangle’: the books protagonist, Katniss, does her best to stay completely oblivious to it, mainly because staying alive takes priority.

I’d say both girls and guys, of all ages (maybe keep the littluns away from it; dying is the main theme of the series) would enjoy the books. It might not be able to be compared with the technical skills of J. R. R. Tolkien’s works, but that doesn’t matter: Collins has managed to write a book that didn’t have a single slow moment in my eyes. Its action packed, with the occasional bit of romance in there for good measure, and Capitol approval.

Review: Fright Night

For a film with ‘Fright’ in the name, only the odd jump is provided in Craig Gillespie directed Fright Night. If you have the choice between 2 or 3D, then definitely go for 3D; Blood splatters shoot out of the screen and the excellently creepy Colin Farrell’s transformation into savage vampire Jerry is done justice through the format. David Tennant does a hilarious job of portraying the troubled Peter Vincent and it is safe to say that all actors in the film do their jobs well. What is lacking is the fright. Fright Night follows in the footsteps of films more like Zombieland, where the gore plays a decent part but the scares are well, scarce. If you haven’t had the chance to see the original version of the film and have only relied upon the trailer to get a sense for what this film is about, then forget about the horror, and go into the cinema expecting laughs. It definitely provides more this way. All the Twilight references, small or big, will put a smile on the face of any avid Twilight fan or raging hater, and there are plenty of other clever bits to keep anyone entertained.

So Fright Night, it’s a 3/5 for me. Definitely entertaining, but lacked the scares I was hoping for.

Now what do you think?