So, it's been good while it's lasted, but for the last week or so I've been building a new site to house this blog.
It's now pretty much finished and can be found at www.m365d.com, so update your bookmarks!
As well as the continuing saga of 365 movies / 365 days, there are also going to be competitions and guest reviews. I also have some new ideas for next year's challenge.
So, go have a look at www.m365d.com and let me know what you think! You'll notice that there are a lot of images and tags missing from the historic posts - that's because of the import process between Wordpress and Blogger. I'll be updating them as and when I can, so please be patient.
Monday 21 September 2009
Sunday 13 September 2009
State of Play (2009)
[Movie 242 / Day 256]
A political thriller, State of Play follows Washington Globe journalist Cal McAffrey (Crowe) as he attempts to fit together an apparent suicide, an apparent drug-related killing and a multinational, multi-billion-dollar company who is currently being investigated by Senator Stephen Collins (Affleck). Against a tight deadline, McAffrey has to work out a puzzle that has serious ramifications; helped by a Globe blogger, Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) they track down various leads and uncover secrets left, right and centre.
The leads are all very good, as you'd expect; although Crowe and Affleck, whose characters are supposed to be good friends, make a strange couple and really don't seem to go together on screen at all well. Having said that, when they are apart (the majority of their screen time), they're both very good.
The real stars for me though, was the supporting cast - Helen Mirren is fantastic as the Globe editor Cameron Lynne; Jeff Daniels excellent as Senator George Fergus; Robin Wright Penn and Jason Bateman are also worthy of mention.
Highly enjoyable, well-paced thriller.
My rating: 7.3 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.4 / 10
Running time: 127 mins
IMDB link
A political thriller, State of Play follows Washington Globe journalist Cal McAffrey (Crowe) as he attempts to fit together an apparent suicide, an apparent drug-related killing and a multinational, multi-billion-dollar company who is currently being investigated by Senator Stephen Collins (Affleck). Against a tight deadline, McAffrey has to work out a puzzle that has serious ramifications; helped by a Globe blogger, Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) they track down various leads and uncover secrets left, right and centre.
The leads are all very good, as you'd expect; although Crowe and Affleck, whose characters are supposed to be good friends, make a strange couple and really don't seem to go together on screen at all well. Having said that, when they are apart (the majority of their screen time), they're both very good.
The real stars for me though, was the supporting cast - Helen Mirren is fantastic as the Globe editor Cameron Lynne; Jeff Daniels excellent as Senator George Fergus; Robin Wright Penn and Jason Bateman are also worthy of mention.
Highly enjoyable, well-paced thriller.
My rating: 7.3 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.4 / 10
Running time: 127 mins
IMDB link
Transformers (2007)
[Movie 241 / Day 256]
Deep in space, an intergalactic civil war has been fought for thousands of years between the Autobots and evil Decepticons over the source of their power, the Cube. This all-powerful Cube has been hidden on Earth for hundreds of years and the alien robots are coming to get it back.
Unknown to him, Sam Witwicky owns the only known map of the Cube's location - a pair of glasses that belonged to his great-great-grandfather, an explorer that stumbled across the frozen leader of the Decepticons (Megatron) while exploring the arctic circle. When he accidently initiated some of Megatron's systems, a code was imprinted on his glasses. Now, both the Autobots and the Decepticons are trying to track Sam down in order to find the Cube.
It's a good fun action movie; clearly a Michael Bay movie although that's not necessarily a bad thing. The plot, although fairly straightforward, nonetheless has many threads that all need tying up; hence the long run-time. The visual effects, while very well done, are presented in such a way that it's actually quite difficult to tell what's happening at times; especially in the later fights between some of the robots - there are lots of tight shots of the action, which makes it tricky to ascertain which metal bits belong to which giant robot. Lots of the sound effects reference the original cartoon series too, which is a nice touch.
The acting is pretty good overall; Megan Fox puts in one of the worst performances in the movie, but I guess her acting chops aren't the reason she was there. As in the sequel, John Turturro's Agent Simmons steals the show, consistantly getting the funniest lines.
As big budget actioners go, it's very well done. Just don't expect a cerebral experience.
My rating: 7.2 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.4 / 10
Running time: 144 mins
IMDB link
Deep in space, an intergalactic civil war has been fought for thousands of years between the Autobots and evil Decepticons over the source of their power, the Cube. This all-powerful Cube has been hidden on Earth for hundreds of years and the alien robots are coming to get it back.
Unknown to him, Sam Witwicky owns the only known map of the Cube's location - a pair of glasses that belonged to his great-great-grandfather, an explorer that stumbled across the frozen leader of the Decepticons (Megatron) while exploring the arctic circle. When he accidently initiated some of Megatron's systems, a code was imprinted on his glasses. Now, both the Autobots and the Decepticons are trying to track Sam down in order to find the Cube.
It's a good fun action movie; clearly a Michael Bay movie although that's not necessarily a bad thing. The plot, although fairly straightforward, nonetheless has many threads that all need tying up; hence the long run-time. The visual effects, while very well done, are presented in such a way that it's actually quite difficult to tell what's happening at times; especially in the later fights between some of the robots - there are lots of tight shots of the action, which makes it tricky to ascertain which metal bits belong to which giant robot. Lots of the sound effects reference the original cartoon series too, which is a nice touch.
The acting is pretty good overall; Megan Fox puts in one of the worst performances in the movie, but I guess her acting chops aren't the reason she was there. As in the sequel, John Turturro's Agent Simmons steals the show, consistantly getting the funniest lines.
As big budget actioners go, it's very well done. Just don't expect a cerebral experience.
My rating: 7.2 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.4 / 10
Running time: 144 mins
IMDB link
Saturday 12 September 2009
Observe and Report (2009)
[Movie 240 / Day 255]
Bi-polar mall security head Ronnie Bernhardt runs a tight ship. When a flasher starts terrorising women in the mall's car parks, he decides to catch the perp and show the boys in blue (who have rejected his application to become a real cop) how it's done. Or something like that. I was looking forward to this as I like Seth Rogen and find him hilarious. Unfortunately, it's unfunny tripe. It's full of clichés and cheap racist jokes. There was literally only one thing at which I actually laughed.
I found the very similar Paul Blart, which, although badly flawed, more enjoyable than this.
My rating: 4.1 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.5 / 10
Running time: 86 mins
IMDB link
Bi-polar mall security head Ronnie Bernhardt runs a tight ship. When a flasher starts terrorising women in the mall's car parks, he decides to catch the perp and show the boys in blue (who have rejected his application to become a real cop) how it's done. Or something like that. I was looking forward to this as I like Seth Rogen and find him hilarious. Unfortunately, it's unfunny tripe. It's full of clichés and cheap racist jokes. There was literally only one thing at which I actually laughed.
I found the very similar Paul Blart, which, although badly flawed, more enjoyable than this.
My rating: 4.1 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.5 / 10
Running time: 86 mins
IMDB link
Fighting (2009)
[Movie 239 / Day 255]
Shawn MacArthur (Tatum) is trying to make a living flogging fake Harry Potter books (!) on the pavements of New York when he's ripped off by street hustler Harvey Boarden (Howard). He defends his money with his fists and that leads Harvey to befriend him and lead him into the murky world of big money bare-knuckle boxing. All going swimmingly until Shawn meets a girl and falls in love.
This is supposedly a film about hustling and bare-knuckle boxing. In reality, it's Step Up with some gentle fisticuffs. Boring, boring, boring.
My rating: 4.2 / 10
IMDB rating: 5.2 / 10
Running time: 105 mins
IMDB link
Shawn MacArthur (Tatum) is trying to make a living flogging fake Harry Potter books (!) on the pavements of New York when he's ripped off by street hustler Harvey Boarden (Howard). He defends his money with his fists and that leads Harvey to befriend him and lead him into the murky world of big money bare-knuckle boxing. All going swimmingly until Shawn meets a girl and falls in love.
This is supposedly a film about hustling and bare-knuckle boxing. In reality, it's Step Up with some gentle fisticuffs. Boring, boring, boring.
My rating: 4.2 / 10
IMDB rating: 5.2 / 10
Running time: 105 mins
IMDB link
Friday 11 September 2009
District 9 (2009)
[Movie -- / Day 254]
I enjoyed it even more on the second viewing, which surprised me.
My rating: 8.4 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.6 / 10
Running time: 112 mins
IMDB link
I enjoyed it even more on the second viewing, which surprised me.
My rating: 8.4 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.6 / 10
Running time: 112 mins
IMDB link
Thursday 10 September 2009
Reckoning Day (2002)
[Movie 238 / Day 253]
An ultra-low budget movie by the director of Rise of the Footsoldier.
The basic plot involves an international assassin-turned-drug runner, Charles Toll; who is hunted in North America and left for dead by a maverick cop, Ed. When Toll resurfaces in the UK and kills something like 38 armed response police escaping a hotel with his girlfriend, the British send for Ed. Ed then chases Toll down and kills lots of people on the way.
Pretty simple plot, but it would still be entertaining if handled well.
Unfortunately, it's not handled well. The actors are wooden. The dialogue is stilted and unnatural (there are a few gems, although I'm not sure they were meant to be). The continuity is absolutely terrible. Every so often, some wierd subliminal-style shots are overlaid or cut-in, but there are hardly any of them and they seem to come at no set points and end up just being plain odd and a little confusing. New characters are introduced and killed before you even work out who they are or what they're doing (the 'party' scene is particularly bad for this). There's far too much fake blood flying around (it seems the director's mantra was 'when in doubt, throw more fake blood on screen').
So, overall, it's pretty rubbish. Then you find out it was made for around £50,000 and featured the director's friends and family and their homes as sets. It then seems more of a case of them having fun and shooting a movie for no reason, with no care given to how it turned out. It feels like an amateur movie, apart from it's length. So, suddenly, most of it's problems seem forgivable. But, then you discover that Primer only cost $7,000 to make, and suddenly those problems are back and adding up to a poor movie.
+ 2 for low budget effort.
- 1 for Primer having a far lower budget and being brilliant.
My rating: 2.3 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.2 / 10
Running time: 105 mins
IMDB link
An ultra-low budget movie by the director of Rise of the Footsoldier.
The basic plot involves an international assassin-turned-drug runner, Charles Toll; who is hunted in North America and left for dead by a maverick cop, Ed. When Toll resurfaces in the UK and kills something like 38 armed response police escaping a hotel with his girlfriend, the British send for Ed. Ed then chases Toll down and kills lots of people on the way.
Pretty simple plot, but it would still be entertaining if handled well.
Unfortunately, it's not handled well. The actors are wooden. The dialogue is stilted and unnatural (there are a few gems, although I'm not sure they were meant to be). The continuity is absolutely terrible. Every so often, some wierd subliminal-style shots are overlaid or cut-in, but there are hardly any of them and they seem to come at no set points and end up just being plain odd and a little confusing. New characters are introduced and killed before you even work out who they are or what they're doing (the 'party' scene is particularly bad for this). There's far too much fake blood flying around (it seems the director's mantra was 'when in doubt, throw more fake blood on screen').
So, overall, it's pretty rubbish. Then you find out it was made for around £50,000 and featured the director's friends and family and their homes as sets. It then seems more of a case of them having fun and shooting a movie for no reason, with no care given to how it turned out. It feels like an amateur movie, apart from it's length. So, suddenly, most of it's problems seem forgivable. But, then you discover that Primer only cost $7,000 to make, and suddenly those problems are back and adding up to a poor movie.
+ 2 for low budget effort.
- 1 for Primer having a far lower budget and being brilliant.
My rating: 2.3 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.2 / 10
Running time: 105 mins
IMDB link
Tuesday 8 September 2009
Alien Nation (1988)
[Movie 237 / Day 251]
Very similar to District 9 (or vice versa, more accurately). A spaceship has arrived over LA. In it are lots and lots of aliens, genetically modified to be good workers and enslaved. At the start of the movie, we are treated to a shot of a spaceship floating in the sky and it could have been an outtake from D9. We're told that the aliens (newcomers) are out of quarantine and integrating with the humans of LA. Then we get into the story.
James Caan plays a badass cop, Sykes, that stumbles upon the robbery of a newcomer convenience store by a pair of heavily armed aliens. As they exchange fire and wait for backup, Sykes' partner is shot and killed. This gives Sykes the excuse he needs to hate the newcomers (or slags, as he calls them) even more.
A few minutes later and a newcomer policeman, Samuel Francisco, is being promoted to Detective, the first to attain that rank. Sykes volunteers to be Francisco's partner, hoping it'll get him closer to the newcomers that murdered his partner.
During his investigation, his prejudices shrink as he gets to know and becomes friends with Francisco. Following leads takes them to the top of the newcomer tree and uncovers a drugs ring.
It's OK, but past the novel pairing of human/alien, it's a pretty standard buddy-cop movie with a pretty standard 'corruption in high places / drug ring' plot.
My rating: 5.7 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.1 / 10
Running time: 91 mins
IMDB link
Very similar to District 9 (or vice versa, more accurately). A spaceship has arrived over LA. In it are lots and lots of aliens, genetically modified to be good workers and enslaved. At the start of the movie, we are treated to a shot of a spaceship floating in the sky and it could have been an outtake from D9. We're told that the aliens (newcomers) are out of quarantine and integrating with the humans of LA. Then we get into the story.
James Caan plays a badass cop, Sykes, that stumbles upon the robbery of a newcomer convenience store by a pair of heavily armed aliens. As they exchange fire and wait for backup, Sykes' partner is shot and killed. This gives Sykes the excuse he needs to hate the newcomers (or slags, as he calls them) even more.
A few minutes later and a newcomer policeman, Samuel Francisco, is being promoted to Detective, the first to attain that rank. Sykes volunteers to be Francisco's partner, hoping it'll get him closer to the newcomers that murdered his partner.
During his investigation, his prejudices shrink as he gets to know and becomes friends with Francisco. Following leads takes them to the top of the newcomer tree and uncovers a drugs ring.
It's OK, but past the novel pairing of human/alien, it's a pretty standard buddy-cop movie with a pretty standard 'corruption in high places / drug ring' plot.
My rating: 5.7 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.1 / 10
Running time: 91 mins
IMDB link
Monday 7 September 2009
District 9 (2009)
[Movie 236 / Day 250]
20 years ago in South Africa, a massive alien spaceship appeared and stopped above Johannesburg. After floating there for a while, the decision was made to cut into it. Inside were found hundreds of thousands of aliens, malnourished and dying. They were brought to the surface and before long were established in a slum called District 9, policed by a private corporation called Multinational United (MNU).
As the aliens reproduce and cause more and more problems (both real and imagined) for Joburg's indigenous population, the government decides to move them out of District 9 to a purpose built camp 200km away from the city.
Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is an MNU agent put in charge of the unit tasked with serving eviction notices on the inhabitants of District 9. As we watch him go about his business, we see that he, like the majority of the city, revels in bullying the aliens (referred to throughout by the derogatory term 'prawn'). During the evictions, Wikus is inadvertantly exposed to an alien substance that starts to alter his DNA. As he turns from being the hunter to the hunted, we start to see life from the aliens point of view and Wikus's attitude begins to change.
Extremely well acted, especially considering this is Sharlto Copley first time on screen and he allegedly ad-libbed all of his lines; well written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, again, his first feature; and featuring some brilliant CGI, not all of it is perfect, but it's never less than very good and never pulls you out of the film.
I look forward to seeing what the South African director does next - although I wouldn't be surprised to see a District 10 at some point in the future, considering how wide open for a sequel D9 is left.
My rating: 8.3 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.6 / 10
Running time: 112 mins
IMDB link
20 years ago in South Africa, a massive alien spaceship appeared and stopped above Johannesburg. After floating there for a while, the decision was made to cut into it. Inside were found hundreds of thousands of aliens, malnourished and dying. They were brought to the surface and before long were established in a slum called District 9, policed by a private corporation called Multinational United (MNU).
As the aliens reproduce and cause more and more problems (both real and imagined) for Joburg's indigenous population, the government decides to move them out of District 9 to a purpose built camp 200km away from the city.
Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is an MNU agent put in charge of the unit tasked with serving eviction notices on the inhabitants of District 9. As we watch him go about his business, we see that he, like the majority of the city, revels in bullying the aliens (referred to throughout by the derogatory term 'prawn'). During the evictions, Wikus is inadvertantly exposed to an alien substance that starts to alter his DNA. As he turns from being the hunter to the hunted, we start to see life from the aliens point of view and Wikus's attitude begins to change.
Extremely well acted, especially considering this is Sharlto Copley first time on screen and he allegedly ad-libbed all of his lines; well written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, again, his first feature; and featuring some brilliant CGI, not all of it is perfect, but it's never less than very good and never pulls you out of the film.
I look forward to seeing what the South African director does next - although I wouldn't be surprised to see a District 10 at some point in the future, considering how wide open for a sequel D9 is left.
My rating: 8.3 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.6 / 10
Running time: 112 mins
IMDB link
Saturday 5 September 2009
All the President's Men (1976)
[Movie 235 / Day 248]
Follows Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward (Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Hoffman) as they uncover details of the Watergate scandal that cost Nixon the Presidency.
Well written and well acted, but I did find it a bit on the long side.
My rating: 7.0 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.0 / 10
Running time: 138 mins
IMDB link
Follows Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward (Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Hoffman) as they uncover details of the Watergate scandal that cost Nixon the Presidency.
Well written and well acted, but I did find it a bit on the long side.
My rating: 7.0 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.0 / 10
Running time: 138 mins
IMDB link
Friday 4 September 2009
Saw III (2006)
[Movie 234 / Day 247]
The original Saw was an extremely low budget horror movie with plenty of nasty traps and a massive twist at the end. When it made a truckload of money, a sequel was quickly planned and brought out; and, whilst not as good as the original, was still pretty good and kept the original's gore-filled premise, lots more nasty traps and another twist. Again, it did well and has, to date, spawned a further four sequels. I've seen the first two, but no more, so thought I'd catch up on the series before VI is released later this year.
III sees Jigsaw, the main protagonist, still on his deathbed but still controlling his little games in which people either discover the true value of life or die. With more traps (although many, many fewer than II), Saw III really didn't seem to be particularly scary or jumpy, unlike the first two. It felt more like a link into the next part of story being built by the series to me and is nowhere near as gory as it's predecessors. Having said that, it did have the series' traditional twist ending - a small twist that was easily seen coming followed by a much bigger one that was mostly successfully masked by the smaller twist and paves the way neatly into Saw IV.
My rating: 5.8 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.3 / 10
Running time: 121 mins
IMDB link
The original Saw was an extremely low budget horror movie with plenty of nasty traps and a massive twist at the end. When it made a truckload of money, a sequel was quickly planned and brought out; and, whilst not as good as the original, was still pretty good and kept the original's gore-filled premise, lots more nasty traps and another twist. Again, it did well and has, to date, spawned a further four sequels. I've seen the first two, but no more, so thought I'd catch up on the series before VI is released later this year.
III sees Jigsaw, the main protagonist, still on his deathbed but still controlling his little games in which people either discover the true value of life or die. With more traps (although many, many fewer than II), Saw III really didn't seem to be particularly scary or jumpy, unlike the first two. It felt more like a link into the next part of story being built by the series to me and is nowhere near as gory as it's predecessors. Having said that, it did have the series' traditional twist ending - a small twist that was easily seen coming followed by a much bigger one that was mostly successfully masked by the smaller twist and paves the way neatly into Saw IV.
My rating: 5.8 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.3 / 10
Running time: 121 mins
IMDB link
Thursday 3 September 2009
The Good Shepherd (2006)
[Movie 233 / Day 246]
An espionage thriller, The Good Shepherd is a long film and feels it. It's well acted, but I just didn't get into it at all. And whilst everybody else seemed obviously older between the current (1960s) timeline and the flashbacks (going back to the 1930s), Matt Damon didn't, at all. Which makes some scenes difficult to believe, especially those between him and his 20 year old son; where Damon looks just old enough to be his big brother, not his father.
Joe Pesci has a cameo in this and he REALLY looks old. I'm not sure if he was made up, but I didn't even recognise him at first.
My rating: 5.5 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.9 / 10
Running time: 167 mins
IMDB link
An espionage thriller, The Good Shepherd is a long film and feels it. It's well acted, but I just didn't get into it at all. And whilst everybody else seemed obviously older between the current (1960s) timeline and the flashbacks (going back to the 1930s), Matt Damon didn't, at all. Which makes some scenes difficult to believe, especially those between him and his 20 year old son; where Damon looks just old enough to be his big brother, not his father.
Joe Pesci has a cameo in this and he REALLY looks old. I'm not sure if he was made up, but I didn't even recognise him at first.
My rating: 5.5 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.9 / 10
Running time: 167 mins
IMDB link
Wednesday 2 September 2009
Goodfellas (1990)
[Movie 232 / Day 245]
Based on the story of Henry Hill, the plot revolving around Henry's gradual climb up through the hierarchy of the Mafia; starting out with running messages and culminating in drug dealing and murder. Nothing lasts for ever though and eventually it becomes apparent that Henry's days are numbered.
The greatest gangster movie ever? Possibly. Certainly in the top three. Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci have never been better.
My rating: 8.6 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.8 / 10
Running time: 146 mins
IMDB link
Based on the story of Henry Hill, the plot revolving around Henry's gradual climb up through the hierarchy of the Mafia; starting out with running messages and culminating in drug dealing and murder. Nothing lasts for ever though and eventually it becomes apparent that Henry's days are numbered.
The greatest gangster movie ever? Possibly. Certainly in the top three. Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci have never been better.
My rating: 8.6 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.8 / 10
Running time: 146 mins
IMDB link
Tuesday 1 September 2009
In the Loop (2009)
[Movie 231 / Day 244]
A spin off from cult TV series The Thick Of It (which I've never seen), In the Loop sees the British Minister of International Development, Simon Foster, have a slip of the tongue during an interview, inadvertantly pushing us closer to war. The PM's Director of Communications is quite upset about it (and brilliantly played by a magnificently sweary Peter Capaldi) and ships Foster and his assistant off to Washington DC where they attempt to sit on the fence as best they can and ride out the impending storm.
Very funny.
My rating: 7.5 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.8 / 10
Running time: 106 mins
IMDB link
A spin off from cult TV series The Thick Of It (which I've never seen), In the Loop sees the British Minister of International Development, Simon Foster, have a slip of the tongue during an interview, inadvertantly pushing us closer to war. The PM's Director of Communications is quite upset about it (and brilliantly played by a magnificently sweary Peter Capaldi) and ships Foster and his assistant off to Washington DC where they attempt to sit on the fence as best they can and ride out the impending storm.
Very funny.
My rating: 7.5 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.8 / 10
Running time: 106 mins
IMDB link
The Hurt Locker (2008)
[Movie 230 / Day 244]
Set in Iraq, the Hurt Locker follows an Army bomb squad as they drive their Humvee around and disarm various booby traps while trying to stay alive long enough to rotate out of harms way. There isn't much more to it than that, and yet it is one of the most tense, edge-of-your-seat movies I've ever seen. The sniper scene in particular was magnificently tense.
Extremely well acted and directed (I love the use of slow-mo and long, continuous shots).
My rating: 8.1 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.0 / 10
Running time: 131 mins
IMDB link
Set in Iraq, the Hurt Locker follows an Army bomb squad as they drive their Humvee around and disarm various booby traps while trying to stay alive long enough to rotate out of harms way. There isn't much more to it than that, and yet it is one of the most tense, edge-of-your-seat movies I've ever seen. The sniper scene in particular was magnificently tense.
Extremely well acted and directed (I love the use of slow-mo and long, continuous shots).
My rating: 8.1 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.0 / 10
Running time: 131 mins
IMDB link
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
