Sunday 29 March 2009

Somers Town (2008)

[Movie 118 / Day 88]


Really simple story, shot in black and white, no special effects, Somers Town is OK, but nothing massively special. Conceived as a short film funded by Eurostar, Shane Meadows apparently like the script so much that is got extended to feature length. Really little happens in it, but it's pleasant enough - we follow the story of two boys who meet, become friends and fall in love with a French waitress. And then catch the Eurostar to Paris.

My rating: 6.7 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.0 / 10
Running time: 75 mins
IMDB link

Friday 27 March 2009

Quantum of Solace (2008)

[Movie 117 / Day 86]


Daniel Craig's latest outing as 007 starts off strongly with a brilliant car chase in the pre-credits sequence. It then builds on that with an excellent rooftop chase. Unfortunately, it doesn't really capitalise on this and consequently ends up feeling like all of the action was in the first 30 minutes.

OK, there are still some big set-pieces later on in the film (a prop plane dogfight and a big explosion filled finale), but neither of them seem as exciting as those opening sequences.

It builds on Casino Royale and we get to see a bit more of this new, gritty Bond (and Craig is perfect as the modern secret agent) but the plot is pretty thin really. Judi Dench is as good as ever as M.

I want to see more of Craig's Bond, but I also want a plot that doesn't revolve around global warming or the world running out of oil - I want a bald-headed baddie with a scar on his cheek, a white cat on his lap and a hard-on for ruling the world.

Plus the Bond girl has a scabby back - wtf is up with that? The last one had unforgiveable eyebrows. Why can't they just get a really hot Bond girl that doesn't have some wierd flaw?

My rating: 7.0 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.0 / 10
Running time: 106 mins
IMDB link

Wednesday 25 March 2009

Seven Pounds (2008)

[Movie 116 / Day 84]


Unusual love story that's both moving and thought provoking. A man sets out to give several other people gifts and through flashbacks and a couple of twists, we find out what those gifts are and why he's giving them away.

Enjoyable, if a little on the sad side.

My rating: 7.9 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.6 / 10
Running time: 123 mins
IMDB link

Tuesday 24 March 2009

Dead Man's Shoes (2004)

[Movie 115 / Day 83]


Shane Meadows movie about a man, Richard, that takes bloody revenge on the small-town drug dealers and low-lifes that tormented his brother while he was away in the army and unable to offer protection.

Paddy Considine is fantastic as Richard, at times seeming vulnerable, at others completely psychotic - and Toby Kebbell was outstanding as Anthony, the younger brother with learning difficulties. Having said that, all of the supporting roles featured pretty good acting, which makes it even more surprising that those two managed to be stand-out.

Unexpectedly moving and with a simple twist, it's a brilliant movie. I'm starting to really like Shane Meadows, even if his movies do seem to leave me feeling a bit depressed.

My rating: 8.3 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.0 / 10
Running time: 90 mins
IMDB link

Monday 23 March 2009

Wanted (2008)

[Movie 114 / Day 82]


Another comic book movie, this one is based in the world of a secret group of super assassins who have the ability to bend bullets and perform super-human feats.

It's good fun, although it's ridiculous in places.

My rating: 7.0 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.9 / 10
Running time: 110 mins
IMDB link

Sunday 22 March 2009

Punisher: War Zone (2008)

[Movie 113 / Day 81]


There have been three Punisher films to date. The first one starred Dolph Lundgren as the titular badass. I haven't seen that one, but it's reputed to be an 80s crapfest. The second movie, released in 2004, starred Thomas Jane as The Punisher and John Travolta as the main baddy. It was an OK effort, but Jane always struck me as too much of a pretty boy to play ultra-hardman Frank Castle convincingly.

This latest version stars nobody I've really heard of (although I did recognise a few faces in it) and clearly had a lower budget than the 2004 version although it retains a similar style. It suffers from some terrible dialogue and accents, unfortunately (especially bad guys Jigsaw and Loony Bin Jim who are downright irritating) - and while Ray Stevenson makes an excellent Frank Castle when in hardcore badass mode (note the scene when he resets his broken nose with a pencil), he's not particularly good at showing the more sensitive side during those brief moments when it's called for.

Overall, I preferred this to the 2004 version and hope that they can make another but hire a scriptwriter that can do dialogue and supporting actors that can do accents. It's a solid action movie - with 80s levels of gritty violence, which is a good thing IMO. Just don't expect any Oscar winning performances, switch your brain off and you might enjoy it.

My rating: 6.0 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.4 / 10
Running time: 103 mins
IMDB link

Saturday 21 March 2009

Twins (1988)

[Movie 112 / Day 80]


A genetic experiment results in unlikely twins, Julius (Schwartzenegger) and Vincent (DeVito). Split up at birth, Julius was shipped off to an idyllic tropical island for the finest education, Vincent was given to an orphanage. Consequently, Julius has lots of knowledge but no experience and Vincent is a thief.

When they meet and team up to attempt to find their mother, comedic situations ensue. Supposedly.

My rating: 5.6 / 10
IMDB rating: 5.9 / 10
Running time: 105 mins
IMDB link

Thursday 19 March 2009

Primer (2004)

[Movie 111 / Day 78]


Primer involves science fiction, time travel and one hell of a confusing plot. I'm not going to attempt to describe it.

Really, the best way of describing my thoughts after watching it would be... WTF?

Oddly though, even though I'm not sure I got it at all, I found it enjoyable. Amazingly, it was apparently made with only $7000 - although it looks low budget, it's not a distraction and works with the way the movie is shot.

Now I'm going to go search the net for an explanation of the plot...

My rating: 6.7 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.9 / 10
Running time: 77 mins
IMDB link

Tuesday 17 March 2009

The Meaning of Life (1983)

[Movie 110 / Day 76]


The Meaning of Life is not really a movie in the traditional sense, but more a collection of Monty Python's surreal sketches loosely gathered together to follow the journey from birth to death.

The movie opens with a movie-within-the-movie, which is a bizarre pirate parody based in an insurance company - the building weighs anchor and sails off onto the 'accountant sea'. After this 16-minute short, we get to the movie proper and take a trip through the minds of some of the greatest comedians this country has ever produced.

My favourite bits include not just the infamous Mr Creosote scene and Eric Idle singing The Galaxy Song (the lyrics are brilliant) but also the fantastic animated title sequence (just brilliant) and even some of the transitions between sketches are genius.

It's not the best Python movie, but it's pretty good nonetheless.

My rating: 6.9 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.4 / 10
Running time: 107 mins
IMDB link

Transporter 3 (2008)

[Movie 109 / Day 76]


The Transporter was pretty good, mindless fun.

Transporter 2 was OK, some really shoddy bits of CGI though.

Transporter 3 is dire.

My rating: 4.3 / 10
IMDB rating: 5.9 / 10
Running time: 104 mins
IMDB link

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)

[Movie 108 / Day 75]


Relatively amusing, especially the Tourette's woman.

My rating: 5.5 / 10
IMDB rating: 5.6 / 10
Running time: 88 mins
IMDB link

Friday 13 March 2009

Scream 2 (1997)

[Movie 107 / Day 72]


After Scream had turned the genre on its head with in-jokes galore, Scream 2 plays massively on in-jokes relating to the first movie - and it does it pretty well. I particularly like the escaping-from-crashed-cop-car-by-climbing-over-unconscious-killer set piece. It really built the tension well.

Unfortunately, the killer reveal is a bit rubbish, the killer is very much a cliche.

Not a bad sequel, but definitely cashing in on the success of the first movie. It's a pity they couldn't keep up the self-referential in-jokes all the way through because they're clever and really work. I love the movie-within-a-movie, Stab - it's brilliant. It's also a pity that one of the surviving (and, incidentally, best) characters from the original is killed off in this one.

From memory, Scream 3 sucks - but I expect I'll watch it at some point in the next few days, just to complete the trilogy if nothing else.

My rating: 6.4 / 10
IMDB rating: 5.8 / 10
Running time: 120 mins
IMDB link

Scream (1996)

[Movie 106 / Day 72]


Scream reinvented a genre. It came out at a time when the teenage slasher flick was more or less dead; and through inventive in-jokes, comedy and gore it revitalised the whole genre.

It's clever, it's witty, and it still holds up well after 12 years (I almost can't believe it's been that long since I walked into Bedford cinema to watch it)... I still love it.

My rating: 7.5 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.2 / 10
Running time: 111 mins
IMDB link

Wednesday 11 March 2009

Blades of Glory (2007)

[Movie 105 / Day 70]


Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Heder) are bitter figure-skating rivals. When they get into a fist fight on the ice, both receive lifetime bans from the sport... Until they discover a loophole that allows them to enter as a team.

It's pretty standard fair, Ferrell is his usual OTT self, Heder holds up against that well and the two are funny together, which helps. Not the funniest film I've ever seen, not the worst, it's just an average comedy.

My rating: 5.9 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.6 / 10
Running time: 93 mins
IMDB link

Sunday 8 March 2009

Ratatouille (2007)

[Movie 104 / Day 67]


My favourite Pixar movie to date, Ratatouille is the story of a rat that wants to be a chef. It's not as child friendly as other Pixars, partly because it's not as funny. However, I really like it for its simplicity and I prefer it to the over-rated Wall-E.

My rating: 8.2 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.2 / 10
Running time: 111 mins
IMDB link

Saturday 7 March 2009

Donkey Punch (2008)

[Movie 103 / Day 66]


Three young slappers from Leeds are on holiday in Marbella, where they meet some young men who are looking after a yacht for its owner. Apparently the owner took pity on some tracksuit clad dole monkeys whilst cruising McDonalds car-park and decided to swap their Halfords-tat-encrusted Corsa for a multi-million dollar yacht. Obvious, really.

Anyway, the three slappers get taken back to the yacht where they ingest some drugs and start talking about mythical sex moves, at which point the donkey punch is discussed. Shortly afterwards, two skanks go to the master bedroom with three of the blokes and have some sex. Oddly one bloke seems to content to sit on a sofa and rub himself for a while - and when he does decide to join in, the biggest chav of the bunch breaks out the camcorder and films the show whilst offering useful advice ("Harder, innit", etc). At this point, one of the chaps decides that this would be the perfect time to test if the donkey punch is as good as the tale suggests. So he performs the titular punch and kills the girl.

The rest of the movie is spent with everybody trying to kill everybody else.

It's rubbish - although amusingly at one point a girl kills a bloke with a handheld outboard motor. That was probably the high point of the movie.

I feel that I should point out that when I watched this, I was quite drunk - I don't think my rating would change however, the film is just terrible.

My rating: 1.2 / 10
IMDB rating: 5.3 / 10
Running time: 99 mins
IMDB link

Friday 6 March 2009

Ronin (1998)

[Movie 102 / Day 65]


An Irish girl hires a group of mercenaries to steal a mysterious silver case (the contents of which are never divulged). As they do however, one of their number double-crosses the rest and steals the case for himself. The remaining group spend the next third of the film chasing him down before another double-cross means the case changes hands again, leaving two of the original group trying to catch up with a whole bunch of people.

The action is realistic and kept simple - there aren't any massive CGI-laden sequences, everything is done old school with stunt men and choreographers. This shows in the two car chases. The first one is good, featuring an Audi S8 chasing a Citroen XM and an old Mercedes taxi chasing the pair of them... It starts on a country road, goes cross country for a while, before ending up on the narrow cobbled streets of a French town. This chase is good. However, better is to come with the second chase much later on in the movie. This one features an old BMW M5 being chased by a Peugeot 406. This sounds silly, but it works brilliantly - mainly because of the techniques used to keep the action and realism at a high level. The film makers built rigs hanging off the back of the cars where the stunt drivers could drive from whilst the actors sat in the cars using fake steering wheels. They also used right-hand drive cars with fake left-hand steering wheels so the looks of concentration and downright terror on the actors faces during some of the chase sequences are absolutely real. They also choreographed the chases brilliantly, using on-coming traffic and perfect timing to leave tiny gaps between cars. There is almost no speeding up effects used, just good old fashioned stunts. This means the second chase ends up being one of the most exciting ever committed to film.

The whole double-crossing espionage plot is OK, and is really helped by a number of excellent actors (especially Jean Reno and Stellan Skarsgård) and a gritty realism. The star of the show is that chase sequence though.

An under-rated movie, worth a watch.

My rating: 6.7 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.2 / 10
Running time: 122 mins
IMDB link

Watchmen (2009)

[Movie 101 / Day 65]


One of the greatest graphic novels ever finally makes it to the big screen. Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 where costumed vigilantes walk the streets of America while the world is on the brink of a nuclear holocaust. One of them, Rorschach (who more-or-less defines "bad-ass") tries to track down the killer of one of the masked men believing that someone is trying to murder all of the remaining (mostly retired) heroes.

I know it's got an 18 certificate, but I wasn't really expecting this movie to be particularly violent - and for the most part, it isn't... But when the violence happens, it's absolutely brutal and almost shocking at times.

It's well acted, written (quite a lot of dialogue seems to have been lifted straight from the book) and directed; the soundtrack is good, the CGI is good... It's just a great film. Not exactly a happy one, but brilliant nonetheless.

I loved the title sequence, full of ultra-slow-mo and Bob Dylan.

I look forward to seeing it again.

My rating: 8.9 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.5 / 10
Running time: 163 mins
IMDB link

Thursday 5 March 2009

Escape From Alcatraz (1979)

[Movie 100 / Day 64]


Escape From Alcatraz is based on the true story of some inmates escaping from Alcatraz, oddly enough.

Stars Clint Eastwood as one of the inmates that escapes.

It's OK, acting is pretty good, but everything moves at a fairly slow pace and really, not that much happens.

My rating: 6.9 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.6 / 10
Running time: 112 mins
IMDB link

Wednesday 4 March 2009

Hulk (2003)

[Movie 99 / Day 63]


When I first saw Ang Lee's Hulk, I thought it was overly long and lacked any really good action sequences. Rewatching it now though, six years later, I really enjoyed it. It's very nearly as good as the recent reboot, which, although far better endowed in the action department, didn't have nearly as in-depth a back story. On the plus side however, Nick Nolte makes a much better slightly crazy bad guy than Tim Roth, and Sam Eliott as General Ross is excellent casting.

Ang Lee seems to have attempted to present this movie like a moving comic book, with 'panels' showing the action from different angles. Unfortunately, sometimes this doesn't quite work. At times, the screen is split into as many as 5 or 6 different views and it gets quite confusing; especially when the action is moving very quickly. Sometimes it works really well - like the death of Josh Lucas' character Talbot (an explosion throws him forwards where he hangs in the air with a keyline around him while the explosion billows out and engulfs him).

Lee also seems to use a LOT of different cuts - he layers shot over shot, shots disappear behind other shots using the scenery to wipe, crash zooms jump in and out of the screen... Again, some work really well, some don't. At all.

I'm actually surprised at just how much I enjoyed it - even the CGI hasn't aged that badly for the most part - the Hulk isn't as nicely textured as the newer movie and looks a bit too smooth at times; he's also almost disturbingly green in some scenes. Oddly, there are some effects that are just plain nasty however, not dated so much, just horrible to look at - like the gamma radiation effect. It really looks like someone's first attempt at a photoshop filter.

So, whilst I prefer last years Incredible Hulk, mainly for the way it ties in with the rest of the new-style Marvel universe, Ang Lee's Hulk is not a bad movie by any means. I'm glad I revisited it.

My rating: 7.1 / 10
IMDB rating: 5.8 / 10
Running time: 138 mins
IMDB link

Tuesday 3 March 2009

Batman Forever (1995)

[Movie 98 / Day 62]


This movie is terrible. I gave it a chance, I tried to like it, I tried to get into it, but it's just awful. It's an awful script, it features awful 'comedy' sound effects, awful dialogue, awful special effects, awful costume design and pretty bad set design. In fact, it's just plain AWFUL.

I know it's a more colourful, comic book style to the Tim Burton Batmans that preceded it and I know it's more child friendly, but it's just hideous. The set designers seem to have gone to some lengths to make everything and everyone seem gay too. The Riddler wears a skin-tight green leotard, which is OK, but he also wears his hair died pinkish red and in a style that wouldn't look amiss on the top of a leather-clad butch dyke. As if that didn't make him look strange enough, he wears makeup and has oddly smooth skin.

Dick Grayson, the young chap that becomes Robin, has a lovely earring and also seems to be wearing makeup for the majority of the movie. The scene where he's doing his washing is just bizarre. When he's revealed in full Robin outfit, it's like a Village People reunion - quite why the costume designers felt the need to give him nipples (yes Batman has them too, but in this scene, the camera lingers on Robin's making them 10x more noticeable) and a prominent cod piece, I'm not sure.

They even managed to gay up Batman's costume and the Batmobile is just cringeworthy. Not only can it drive up a wall, the flames it spits are now pink and it has more blue neon on it than a McDonald's car park on a Friday night. As if that wasn't enough, the designers, in their infinite wisdom, added freaking BAT WINGS on the back of it. At one point it literally bounces down the road flapping it's wings. It's depressing. Oh, and who thought it would be a good idea to make it evade rockets by turning its wheels 90 degrees and moving sideways across the road? It's just plain ridiculous.

Even Tommy Lee Jones, who is normally excellent, can't improve this dire-fest. His portrayal of Two Face is poor at best - he really can't do over the top very well.

I'm guessing this movie was supposed to hark back to the camp, over-the-top style of the original, fondly remembered, TV series. Unfortunately, instead of camp, they hit bent.

If you're thinking of watching this, I'd recommend you don't. Watch one of the Burton or Nolan Batmans instead as they are FAR superior. If it's for the kids, watch Toy Story or Ratatouille. Microwave this disk then bury it under your patio - you'll thank me for it.

+2 for the surround sound, which is really quite good in places.

+1 for Drew Barrymore in tighty whities.

My rating: 3.5 / 10
IMDB rating: 5.4 / 10
Running time: 122 mins
IMDB link

Monday 2 March 2009

Iron Man (2008)

[Movie 97 / Day 61]


Tony Stark (a brilliantly cast Robert Downey Jr) is the multi-millionaire owner of Stark Industries, a hi-tech weapons manufacturer. He is also a womanizer, hard drinker and he likes to party. So when he's kidnapped by extremists in the middle-east and forced to build one of his weapons using rudimentary equipment in a cave, it's only logical that he should instead build an armoured, flying suit in order to escape.

When he gets back to civilisation, he declares he's going to stop manufacturing weaponry after seeing what his inventions are doing to innocent people. A senior partner at Stark Industries, Obadiah Stane (played by Jeff Bridges, who looks like a badass but doesn't quite manage to pull off the nasty guy he's supposed to) doesn't like this decision and tries to steal the company and the suit.

I love this movie. It's one of the best comic book movies for a long time. With this and the recent Hulk movie, Marvel have really started pulling some quality viewing out of the bag. I really love the way they're starting to tie them all together to create a true Marvel universe - the Incredible Hulk had several mentions of Stark Industries and the serum that creates Captain America plays an important role in the movie. It also featured a cameo from Robert Downey Jr an a post-credit scene. Iron Man has plenty of mentions of SHIELD, Captain America's half-built shield in the background of Tony Stark's workshop and a post-credit scene featuring a cameo from Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Iron Man 2, as well as Nick Fury, Captain America and The Avengers movies that are all slated for release in the next few years. Shame I'll have to wait so long.

My rating: 8.0 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.0 / 10
Running time: 126 mins
IMDB link