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Reviews
The Painted Veil (2006)
An enchanting and sad tale
Having watched the Illusionist, I was slightly concerned at the thought of seeing this film, particularly as Norton appeared to be using that dreadful Austrian accent again (I later realised that this was meant to be English!). Having said this, I found the story to be a compelling tale, full of beautiful cinematography, and characters that truly are brought to life.
The story is briefly that of a dour English Doctor (Norton), who marries a fun-loving socialite (Watts) in the 1920s, before shortly returning to China. It is during this time that Watts has an affair, and in response Norton decides to move to a town suffering from a severe Cholera epidemic.
In essence the film considers the concept of unrequited love, as well as the need to understand one-another, before true love can develop. It explores feelings of isolation, bitterness, resentment and also forgiveness and understanding I think both Norton and Watts played their characters exceptionally well and produce dazzling performances. Norton's accent isn't that bad at all, although it was a bit ropey to start with. For an American trying to emulate the English accent, he actually does quite a good job of it (luckily the film called for the upper class version). They are also supported by great performances from Jones and Schreiber.
I found the film to be quite slow, but even still I found this film to be truly heart-wrenching. This film and story is portrayed so well, it would be excusable to think that it is based on fact rather then fiction. The sadness it brings is undeniable. A quote that springs to mind when I think of this film, is "better to have loved and lost, then never to have loved at all".
28 Weeks Later (2007)
Frightening possibilities
It is rare that a sequel is as good as its original, but 28 Weeks Later is one of those films that lives up to the success of its predecessor.
The plot was simple but effective: After allowing the virus to die, the American Army begins to rebuild Britain starting with 'District 1' AKA the Isle of Dogs... While the regeneration of London continues, District 1's population grows, and the first children arrive to rebuild their home. They are told about the death of their mother to the rage virus and that they won't be going back to their old house, so they decide to sneak out of the complex to get some old belongings including a photo of their mother. It is during this escapade, that they come across their mum who appears to have survived the virus...
The film definitely lived up to the original in pace, effects and plot. In fact the time flew by and although it may have been possible to make it longer, I think the right decision was made to leave it as it was, and use the time in an extremely effective way. This film had a bigger budget then the the first and I felt that this was used sensibly. In fact what made the film was the same choppy and grainy camera effects used in the original, although they were used to a much greater affect.
I was also impressed with the realistic attitude of the film including the decisions that would be taken in this situation, such as the anguish of the soldiers in having to first identify the infected from the uninfected, to then having to kill everyone. There was good choice of scenes used, with the 'hideout and ambush' at the beginning and the 'fox in the chickens coup' scenes (You'll know what I mean when you see them). These were particularly strong and were extremely intense.
Having said all this the film's time line is fairly short (24 hour period), and I'm sure many who have not seen 28 Days Later may think that the real issues such as survival, food and shelter have not been dealt with. It is important that anyone thinking of watching this does watch the original first as this film is not separate but leads on from where the first left off. This film now deals with: The problem of re-populating a country; How people handle a re-infection; The hope of creating a cure through the carriers, but at the same time the devastation the carriers can cause if the world is unaware of them; And what might happen if the virus manages to cross the channel
Finally this film leaves a terrifying image of how easy it would be for the virus to infect the world...
I couldn't fault this film in any way. Superb 10 out of 10.
Shooter (2007)
Hit the target
I enjoyed this film. More so then even I imagined I would. I thought Mark Whalberg did a cracking job in the lead role, and I can not believe this is the same member of the well know boy group in the 80s. It seems like he has come so far since those early days.
Briefly the story is about an ex marine (Swagger) who is hired in order to ascertain how an assassination might take place on the President. He is subsequently 'set up' and has to go on the run. Along the way he enlists the help of his dead partner's widow, and an FBI agent who realises that the assassination isn't all it seems.
Mark Whalberg did exceptionally well in this film, especially as the supporting cast did not produce the best performances I had ever seen. The film moved well, and I didn't have to keep checking my watch. There were some parts where it required a lot of imagination in order to believe some of the things Swagger did, for example the second helicopter scene (you'll know which one I mean)
I also thought that the film had finished twice before it really did:
1. At the mountain meeting, where Swagger decides to destroy the tape evidence (honestly, why bother getting it in the first place, and damn nearly getting himself killed?) 2. At the presentation during which he demonstrated that his gun doesn't work and therefore it is clearly a set-up (why didn't he just do that in the first place?) 3. Finally the ending, where he kills the Senetor and the Colonel (surely he should have just done that in the first place?)
All in all, if you're looking for cracking action film, with a good entertainment factor, and something that you don't insist should be realistic, then I would definitely recommend this film.
Wild Hogs (2007)
Laughter from start to finish..
This is a story of four middle-aged men suffering a mid-life crisis, and decide to take a road trip...
Travolta, Macy, Allen and Lawerance play the lead roles, and produce strong performances, however the supporting cast (Liotta, McGinley) were also superb.
This film is filled of gags from start to finish. I can honestly say I have not watched a film where I laughed so much for a long time. A word of warning though; This film is not sophisticated. If you want to watch an original comedy you won't get this here, But... If you're looking for some light, fun and fancy free entertainment, Wild Hogs is just for you.
Sunshine (2007)
Don't be burnt by this film
I am a big fan of 28 days later and Trainspotting, so I had high hopes for this film when I discovered it was directed by Danny Boyle. What I eventually saw however was something far from what I would have imagined. I'm still not entirely sure what they were trying to achieve by this film, but whichever decision you finally make I can safely say they didn't achieve it.
The acting was pretty poor with the exception of Chris Evans, who in my opinion stole the film. Even Cillian Murphy produced the weakest performance I've seen. In contrast, the CGI was spectacular but after I had seen several dozen shots of the ship/sun, I was over it already.
I'm not overly fussy about things being 100% accurate when it comes to films, but this film even stretched my patience. There were just too many things that were implausible and quite frankly ridiculous. My major complaint being: How can a man survive with burns that extensive, and if he did, how could he do it for 7 years?! There were also far to many "why would you do that?"s For example, why would you forget to adjust the sun shield? Why would you investigate the '5th person' without notifying your colleagues? Why would you only show one person how to detonate the bomb? The final problem I had with this film was that it was soooooo boring! It took what seemed like forever to get to it's conclusion. And finally the film was over - just like that!
In summery this film was RUBBISH!!!!
The Illusionist (2006)
All the right ingredients, but lacked that touch of magic
With a superb cast such as Norton and Giamatti, and a sprinkling of rave reviews from friends, I was expecting to see a film that would impress. What I got however was something far from a masterpiece and nowhere near the class that was 'The Prestige' which deals with a similar subject matter.
So what was good? In a word, nothing. Norton did nothing to endear the audience to his character, in fact he was quite 'bland', which is disappointing as he has done some fabulous turns in other films. Giamatti gave a more solid performance, but tended to overact in parts and his face in the last scene was priceless! Biel did well as the elegant Princess Sophie, but she wasn't really around long enough for her character to actually do anything. In fact the best performance came from Sewell who made a convincing baddie that we all love to hate (but then he's done this before in 'A Knight's Tale' hasn't he?). Coupled with the poor acting the characters were just not strong enough.
Then there was the plot. For me, the major problem in the whole film was the twist and my reasoning is this.. I am the last person to figure out twists, and when they happen I am normally stunned, shocked and confused - "how did I miss it??" This makes me the perfect person to watch mystery style films as I will always give the desired outcome. "Why is this a problem?" you ask. The problem is that I SAW THIS TWIST COMING A MILE OFF!!! Which meant for the rest of the film I was simply waiting for the answer to be revealed.
And it was revealed... in a 'here's how it was all done' fashion, which when the likes of me can see the twist, it is slightly patronising to then reveal it in this way. In fact, had they had skipped this over-dramatised, "look how clever we are" scene, I could have been almost to my car and on my way home!
Becoming Jane (2007)
Only go and see this if you're a sucker for romance
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this film, if only because although I know and love many of Jane Austen's books, I must confess I know very little about the lady herself.
The film stunned me and I enjoyed every second of it, even if it did feel slightly long. Whilst the film does not focus so much on Jane's writing, it does speculate about her life and the 'romance' between her and Thomas Lefroy. Although I discovered that the film is not historically accurate, I would still recommend this to anyone who enjoys a love story. In fact, due to the inaccuracies of the story, I would even go as far to suggest to just forget it's about Jane Austen and watch it as any other film! I left the cinema feeling thoroughly miserable! But only because the film did its work so well, and I found it refreshing to watch a love story that ends a little more realistically (the girl does not always get her man).
Overall I enjoyed the acting of all the cast, but I must make a special point to express how fantastic James McAvoy was! His portrayal of Thomas Lefroy was absolutely heart stopping; the only downside was that he was playing an Irishman, but did not have an Irish accent. This is the first film I have seen Anne Hathaway in, I felt that she could have perhaps have made her character Jane be a bit stronger, but she did the whole 'smitten' part superbly.
This is not my normal type of film, and I rarely enjoy romance dramas, but I'm afraid I turned into a proper girl on this occasion and was completely touched by the story. I think the main thing to bear in mind is that if you don't concentrate too much on what the story is supposed to be about, it's a cracking film. If you want it to give a credible tale of Jane Austen and her life, you may not be so lucky.
School for Scoundrels (2006)
Even if you had no expectations, this film still doesn't meet them
This film disappointed me.
There were some parts that were really funny, but the problem was that the plot just wasn't that strong. I didn't find Jon Heder a particularly convincing lead role, and rather then willing him to 'get his girl' I just didn't care! When Ben Stiller makes an appearance part way through the film, I honestly thought the film would take a turn for the better, but alas that just didn't happen. There was no-one or nothing they could bring in to change my views.
If you took away the plot there were some really funny parts to this film, but don't see it if you like the story line to be strong as well.
Blood and Chocolate (2007)
Last in the race against other monster movies
First of all I LOVE fantasy style films, particularly those about werewolves, vampires etc. I was therefore intrigued to see Blood and Chocolate which seemed an unusual name for a film about werewolves (I've never read the book).
OK, so basically the film is about werewolves, but not in the sense you would normally think about werewolves, this was more 'spiritual' (corny I know!). I did enjoy the film, and I could see what they were trying to achieve could have been something very special, giving us a different perception of the 'werewolf'. But instead I ended up watching a very mediocre film which left me asking lots of extra questions, and feeling somewhat frustrated by the story it was trying to tell. For example, it made references to the head of the pack taking a new mate every 7 years due to tradition, but why was the tradition there and what's the significance of 7 years??? Also it missed more obvious points, like how were Vivian (Bruckner) and Aiden (Dancy) were able to travel across Europe without passports (surely there couldn't have been a werewolf at every passport control between Romania and France)?! The acting was fairly poor, and the film didn't really allow enough time to develop the characters, as well as for the characters to develop their relationships. All in all it appeared very rushed.
I could see what the film makers had been trying to do, but it just didn't quite work. This film lacked the drama of Interview with the Vampire, the action and effects of Underworld and the jumps of Dog Soldiers.
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Second viewing required
When I realised that this film came from the same team that brought us Shaun of the Dead, I knew I had to see this.. and it didn't disappoint me.
I thought Pegg played his role really well, and he and Frost bounced off each other perfectly. The film had some great actors in it, and I also was impressed with the cameos from Nighy among others.
The film made me laugh a lot, although perhaps there were not so many laugh out loud gags as other Brit comedies I've seen. And dare I say it.... I didn't think it was as good as Shaun of the Dead. I do however think it is well worth watching, and I have a sneaking suspicion that this film needs a second viewing to catch all the missed gags from the first time round (there were that many - you hadn't finished laughing at the last one to catch the next properly!) All in all, if you like Brit comedies, this is well worth a watch.
Miss Potter (2006)
More Jones then Potter?
Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this film, and having read the books when I was a kid it was nice to understand a little more about Beatrix Potter's life. However I am not Renee's biggest fan, and with the exception of about two films I do find her quite annoying to watch. In this case I found her English accent to be the main spoiler of the film. Almost every time she opened her mouth all I could hear was Briget Jones talking, sometimes I even felt Zellweger portrayed traits from the Jone's films. Even without knowing the full story of Beatrix Potter I'm sure I safe in believing that Beatrix would have been nothing like Briget Jones!
I also wasn't too sure about the way Chris Noonan handled bringing the characters Beatrix created into the film, and it made Beatrix appear to be slightly 'mad'.
Despite those tiny problems, I found the rest of the cast gave great performances, particularly Emily Watson, who I think I would have preferred in the lead role instead.
With regards to the story in general, I found it very moving, and I was shocked to discover that after being engaged late in life (in those days), Beatrix's love died. I felt the film handled this in a very delicate way.
I have given the film 6 out of 10, only as I felt that Zellwegger's performance let it down somewhat. I think there would have been other people who would have been better in the role, but I guess a big name like Zellweger would have been needed to bring the money for the film.
The Prestige (2006)
Riveting
I actually saw Prestige by accident; although I had heard good reviews there were other films that I preferred to see. As it happens the night I was at the cinema the film I had wanted to see was sold out and I decided to see Prestige instead. I can only say it was a superb film (even better then the film I had originally wanted to see).
I thought both Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale portrayed their characters in a really realistic way, and it was difficult to decide which one you would support, as like real life, the moment you thought one was better then the other, they went and did something that totally spoilt your choice and you were back to square one.
It was a slower moving film, but it was handled brilliantly, and the twists were simple but effective.
Quite simply it was the best film I had seen of 2006.