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Reviews
Rise (2007)
Disappointing, confusing & predictable
I saw the trailer of this a while back and thought it could be one of those sleeper hits, as it had a relatively good premise and I've always been intrigued by vampire films, so when I saw it on the shelves I thought I'd give it a go.
As the film was overall a disappointment for me, I won't put any spoilers in this review. I will say however that from the outset, the sequence of events are disjointed and make for confusing viewing. The film tries to be too clever throughout and ultimately ends up being hard to follow. For a vampire film, it doesn't really give much background to the whole vampire genre as most do and adds to the confusion as to who is who and what is what. Apart from Lucy Liu's character, there is no back story or build up to the antagonists, everything just happens randomly, which makes it an effort to keep track of things.
As for the acting, I find it a shame that Lucy Liu continues to make films that don't really challenge her. She spends most of this film looking either in distress or moody, oh and naked. Having seen her in Kill Bill and her earlier turns in Ally McBeal, Rise & Ecks vs Sever really don't do her justice as an actress. The vampire contingent here are pretty poor too, with James D'Arcy playing a poor mans version of every other bad vampire we've seen before (notably Stephen Dorff in Blade). Michael Chiklis is at best, mediocre, looking like he did this when short of a few bob, in his spare time from filming Silver Surfer.
Overall, another addition to the growing number of mediocre vampire-themed films. I would avoid this if I were you, but if Lucy Liu (+ a few others) prancing about naked and lots of blood tickles your fancy, then give it a go.
The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Jovial, gritty and mesmerising, with a sensational performance by Whittaker
Having read rave reviews on this film in numerous magazines and websites, and having seen the trailer, I went to see this with high hopes and it certainly did not disappoint! I will review this by breaking the film down into its three main acts that tantalisingly build upon each other to the eminent climax of the film.
Set in the 70's, we first see McAvoy's character, Nicolas, as an arrogant yet intelligent young man, who has just graduated university and about to embark on a career as a doctor under the wing of his rather snobbish and pretentious father. He realises that it is not the life he wants to lead and decides to go off on an adventure, where he can have fun and put his medical skills to good use at the same time. His destination, Uganda, where Idi Amin's military coup has just come into power. He joins a charity clinic and begins to help the sick people of Uganda together with the resident doctor and his wife, played by Gillian Anderson (of X-Files fame). These first 30 minutes, build a platform for the audience to gauge the type of character Nicolas is and the situation he has put himself in. Lightly entertaining, albeit a little slow paced. Anderson, having been away from the silver screen for a relatively long time, finds herself in a small yet significant role and in fine form.
In the second act, Nicolas encounters the new President himself, Idi Amin, through a rather bizarre and tense event. They become friends and Amin offers Nicolas a new job as his personal physician. The pace of the film picks up here and we see their friendship blossom. Whittaker and McAvoy have a great screen chemistry together, Whittaker coming across in this act as a tough and frightening leader, but with a sense of humour. McAvoy succeeds in his portrayal of someone who has strong beliefs, but wary of the fear Whittaker brings with Amin. As the film progresses, Nicolas becomes aware of the real Amin and their friendship deteriorates into a relationship based on fear. This is not helped by Nicolas's sexual advances towards one of Amins wives.
The final act and climax of the film is brutal, gory, intense and mesmerising. It develops the animosity between the two main characters, whereby Amin's rule over Uganda verges towards insanity and tyranny, and shapes what is to be a fantastic (and gruesome) finale. I won't go into further detail and spoil it for you, you will be on the edge of your seat by this point anyway.
To conclude, although McAvoy's performance is perfectly sound with inklings of a young Ewan McGregor, his character has been created to fit in with real events. This movie is all about Idi Amin and his portrayal by Forrest Whittaker is astounding. He thoroughly deserves the plaudits and should walk away with most (if not all) of the upcoming Best Actor awards. He has played many great supporting roles in the past and it is deeply satisfying to see him take the lead role and show what a genuinely fine actor he really is.
Last King did remind me of Hotel Rwanda and is not for the faint-hearted, but although along the same lines, it focuses on a real and evil protagonist that was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands. It is a startling reminder of the horrors of the world we live in and this should not be forgotten.
If you plan on seeing any film this year, make sure you see The Last King of Scotland. You will not regret it.
Casino Royale (2006)
A bit long, but pure class!
It has been a long time coming and luckily, I've waited for all the hype and criticism to die down. I was always for Daniel Craig in the role of Bond (although I would have liked to have seen Clive Owen), having seen him in Layer Cake and I was surprised at the 'nutters' campaigning against him.
I'll start with the positives, of which there are many; Craig puts in a classy performance as Bond, Eva Green is one of the best Bond girls ever - with a part that really redefines the Bond girl image - full of verve, character, class, beauty and insecurity, all the supporting acts, such as Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre, the speedjumping? French guy at the beginning and the CIA agent, play a significant and quality role to the film. My favourite part of the film was the initial interaction between Bond and Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), the scriptwriter(s) should be praised for such witty dialogue between the two and both actors should be commended for the way in which they played their parts. My second favourite part, is the climax to the poker game; intense and intriguing, regardless of whether or not you know how to play poker or not... put it this way, I would not want to play either of them! The action is awesome, brutal, honest, less 1 shot kills (like in previous Bonds), amazing fight scenes and quality sets. The banter is also highly entertaining, which thins out the hardcore violence, particularly the quips about the Vodka Martinis. Going back to Craig's portrayal of Bond, I must admit, I did feel at times it was just a very good action movie and didn't have any attachment to Bond. However, I believe that this is because its his first Bond film. The next one will rightfully stamp Craig's position as James Bond in folklore. Eva Green is sexy, sweet, lovable and sassy throughout the film:not your usual Bond girl and with that Green will be able to move away from the stereotype and go on to have a great career.
The are only a few negatives, which do need to be pointed out. Firstly, the introduction sequence & titles is pretty poor and too long, I think everyone was getting a bit agitated in the cinema, I know I was. Secondly, during the poker game, Mathis is constantly explaining the rules to Vesper, which as a poker player was a bit annoying. I suppose there is nothing wrong with it as people who don't understand the game will not really know whats going on, but the problem was the way Mathis' dialogue was written to blatantly explain what was going on. I think it would have been better to have had Bond mention it a little by little (like he did the first time to Vesper and Mathis at the bar). Lastly, the whole part after Bond wakes up in the hospital and then declares his love for Vesper, to the point where he finds out she has betrayed him, is too long in my opinion and could be cut.
Overall, the new Bond is essential viewing for any film fan. You'll find that there is something for everyone: romance, action, drama and comedy. GO SEE IT!!!
The Departed (2006)
Scorsese tries, almost succeeds, but fails in my eyes...
I have loved the original (Infernal Affairs) from the first time it enthralled and enticed me into its engrossing story, and I have watched it so many times without ever losing a moments interest. When I found out it would be remade, I was annoyed at Hollywood for meddling with masterpieces, but then I heard it would be Marty at the helm. His films have always impressed me and he deserves an Oscar for his efforts, yet his recent offerings have left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. Take Gangs of New York, it was entertaining, it had all the right elements to make it a great film, but after watching it, I felt a bit robbed. Undoubtedably, the best thing was Daniel Day Lewis' 'Butcher' character, along with the fight scenes and the setting, yet none of it really ever gelled together to make that masterpiece Scorsese always craves.
This brings me onto 'The Departed'. I went in thinking, this should be OK, Scorsese has taken an amazing concept and is trying to make it his own with a stellar cast that with such material, really shouldn't go wrong. I was right to an extent, but I was left with a feeling of dissatisfaction.
Having read in reviews that Jack Nicholson stole the show, to be honest, he didn't really do much for me in the film, just his usual on screen persona (feisty, scary, loud). He fits the bill though, he took up the screen and he owned the scenes he was in. However, if you look at the original and compare it to Sam, you'll notice that Sam seemed more menacing, because you really didn't know what he was going to do or say next.
Martin Sheens 'Quinan' was probably one of the weakest characters, his role in comparison to the original does not give a real mentor bonding with Billy Costigan (Leo Di Caprio) and defeats the idea of the closeness of the two main good characters. His sidekick however, Mark Wahlbergs 'Dignam', I think was the best thing in the movie. It allowed for a bit of banter and sparked off a few laughs in the cinema. He was more developed in this version, however he got in the way of Quinan making any impact on the story.
The two leads were well cast, Leonardo Di Caprio does well with his role and looks frail but tough, and caught in the middle of things. Matt Damon had probably less to do, in acting terms, however he manages well with what he had. Having said this, neither of them match up to Tony Leung or Andy Lau, from the original.
The one thing I did like about The Departed was the new idea that they both fall for the same woman. It added a bit more to the back story and suspense, towards the end.
Overall, I gave this a 7, because it is a movie in its own right and being that, it is a pretty good offering by Scorsese. The problem is, for me, the original is far better. The whole concept, suspense and acting from Infernal Affairs is so much more believable and flowing. I think one important point to note is the environment, the Hong Kong police force and triads are much better suited for this plot, as well as the language. Scorsese did well with transferring the idea over to the S. Boston Irish 'mafia', but he failed in trying to translate a lot of the dialogue over from Cantonese (eg. the wrong way of writing the word 'bodyguard' on the envelope, changes to the misspelling of the word 'citizen').
To conclude, if I was to take into account the original, I would have given this a 3.5/10, which may seem harsh, but I believe its nowhere near as good. If you haven't seen Infernal Affairs and were intending on seeing The Departed, I would advise you to see the latter first, so you will know what I mean about feeling unsatisfied. I think the rating of 8.7 (at the time of writing) for The Departed does not do the original justice. I leave it for you to decide.
Anger Management (2003)
definitely not classic adam sandler
I hadnt read much about this film, so I went to the cinema blindly. I sat through the first half hour, thinking what is the point of this film, by the end of it I was thinking, there is no point to this film. It is a brainless piece of film making, which managed to include as many cameos as possible, through Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandlers many contacts.
Of course any Sandler films will have its fair share of laughs, and this was no exceptions, regardless of how bad the actual movie is. Classic moments, include the 'I feel pretty' song, the 'huge dick' jokes and of course Sandlers usual one liner 'You can do it!', which was all the more funnier said by ex NY mayor Giuliani.
Anyway, probably one of the worst Sandler films, which is a shame. His recent efforts have been very poor, like Little Nicky, Mr. Deeds and Punch Drunk Love (which didnt make much sense either, even if people did say it was really good.).
If you are a real Sandler fan, then you might as well go and see it, if not wait till its available to rent for a night in.
Hulk (2003)
Pleasantly surprised
I wasn't particularly interested in the hulk before, I was much more of an X-Men 'Man', so I only went to see the Hulk for the sake of it. I was really surprised to find that the film was actually pretty damn good. The CGI was good enough and not as artificial as one might think from some of the screen shots. I was actually more impressed with the story and the dialogue, even if it was a bit complicated. The performances were good, Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly played the unlikely couple as well as they could have. Nick Nolte was a bit odd, but played the psychotic father quite well. Ang Lee has done a good job here, done his best not to make people think of CTCD, but instead enjoy this film in its own right. The only thing I thought was a bit silly, was when Nick Nolte turned into an electric freak, which spoilt the climax to the film (although the cgi was pretty cool).
Anyway, would recommend it to people to go and see, good fun at the flicks.
Far from Heaven (2002)
What a load of crap!
I went to see this film cos somebody else bought the tickets, if they hadnt I would have had no intention of watching this film. All I can say is that I have never fallen a sleep in the cinema, and this was the closest I have ever been. What a load of crap!!! Let's break that down a bit now, seeing as someone is going to moan at me for not explaining why.
The plot
There isnt one! It is as boring as the idea of life; we are born, we go to school, we go to uni or start working, we get married, have children, then we die. What a pointless idea of a film. I am starting to write scripts, and after watching this, I am now overly confident I can win an oscar, if such rubbish can get nominated.
The acting
About the only saving grace for this film, fair enough Julianne moore was good in this, as was the other actors, but the underlying factor is that they hadnt much to play with. All they had to do was put on either a fake happy look or a distressed/depressed look.
The setting
Ok this was supposed to be a 50's film and made like a 50's film, I cant comment on that as I wasnt alive then, but to be honest if films like this were made then, I'm glad I wasn't!!
Overall
I wasted 2 hours of my life sitting in a cinema to watch this drivel, when I got out of there, all people were saying was how crap and boring that film was. So, recommendations? No way! If you want to be bored for two hours and waste money then go see it, if not then look at it disgust in the video shop when it comes out!
Equilibrium (2002)
good stuff
I went to see this film without knowing anything about it, except that my mate said he wanted to see it. I hadnt even seen the trailer, which is rare, as I always want to know about a film before seeing it. Well I was pleasantly surprised, it was not about plot, just action, which was what I was in the mood for.
Christian Bale did a great job with his role as John Preston, even though his character wasnt far off from Patrick Bateman. The other actors did as well as they could, however I must admit the film was a little bit patchy.
The idea is too farfetched to be considered a 'real' possibility, for example people would not be allowed to have sex or relationships, because feeling is what its all about. What would be the point of having a wife as John Preston did, seeing as you could always have test tube babies if wanted. The setting/scenery was pretty good for such a low budget effects film, furthermore the gun kata was well developed and explained... although when you actually see it, u just sit in awe at how cool it is.
One last thought about this film, was the way that John Preston was made to be invicible, which somewhat defeats the point of the progression in the film. Nevertheless, if you want a decent film that will 'blow you away' for a couple of hours, then go see it!