alicante22 Reviews

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

A surprise favourite movie of the year

[10/10 · 30 January 2013]

I had heard reasonably good things about this film. I had skim read some reviews, I had seen the score on here (8.2/10 a the time of viewing), I had come across it as I was looking for another book to read after finishing the Silver Linings Playbook. So, it was not an unknown to me, but it was unexpected.

It was a batch of movies that I had acquired with a view to watching a few whilst away on an extended holiday with some friends. It was by no means the first choice to watch, and in reality it was only because my friends girlfriend was watching with us that night that we chose this seemingly (from the title at least) girl friendly movie rather than watching Skyfall. And this is where the surprise was. A film I had only average to good expectations of on putting it on, turned into perhaps the greatest teenage angst, coming of age, funny, poignant love story I have ever come across. I know thats not exactly a HUGE genre I just described, but if you we to just call it a "movie" it would still be up there with my favourite of all time. As it stands, its the best film I've seen in the last 12 months for sure.

We feel for Charlie, his difficult first few days at school, his loneliness, his desperation for human contact that isn't his immediate family. And we feel his joy and happiness as he finds his niche in life and his new friends. But its not all just feelings and emotions, there are some amazingly real laugh out loud moments. If you have memories of your first girlfriend and how that actually came about, then you will love this too. Me and my friend couldn't stop laughing at one point but to tell you what it was would be a spoiler and that would ruin the fun now wouldn't it. But you will know it when it happens and I would imagine that memories will come flooding back about that time in your own life!

All in all, a fantastic film that is required viewing for all. Not one character is perfect, they are all real with faults and blemishes to their personalities and back story (even if they do often talk like middle aged people when they are supposed to be teenagers on occasions).

Do not hesitate. Watch now.

A Better Life (2011)

Tense, real and original

[9/10 · 4 December 2012]

Its hard to imagine living in a world like the one portrayed in A Better Life. But you are brought into it with such ease that you quickly forget that this cycle of work, sleep, work, sleep and provide for your family isn't the norm. You are so brilliantly made part of that world that you fell like Carlos (the father) is one of your own and you feel for his every move.

Carlos is a deeply respectful man. He does things that he believes to the the right way of doing things. And this includes making his entire existence about providing for his 14yr old son, no matter how ungrateful he seems. Perhaps its a sign of my age (mid 30's) that I really felt more of an affinity towards Carlos and his never ending struggle and could see all he hard work and effort go seemingly unappreciated. I really felt his pain and his desire to provide a better life for his son, to give him the opportunities that he never had.

But what brings the film together is when the one life line he has to provide that life for himself and his son is taken from him. I'd like to say it becomes a thriller or an action, because that would be so easy to describe. But far from the far fetched thrillers that normally grace our cinema screens, the need to resolve this situation feels much greater than if this was a Bruce Willis movie for example. The solidarity for the father, Carlos, that has been built up so well in the first half hour of the movie gives you a real understanding for the desperation that he feels when everything seems to be crashed down around him. The frantic, seemingly fruitless, mission to regain what was stolen is felt by the viewer with every step. And where Luis (the son) represents youthful exuberance with is American influences all rolled into one, Carlos is the exact representation of old world values and of south of the border.

All in all a very very entertaining and emotional journey that leaves you with a better understanding of how certain people live and how their lives are a desperate struggle to try and better themselves and the chances that are afforded to their children. The ever present threat of gang land involvement is done tactfully and doesn't encroach on the plot or at any point become stereotyped. It is what it is, an ever present option to Hispanic youth growing up in these types of neighbourhoods.

If you fail to feel a tear in your eye or a lump in your throat at some point during the film, then I'd be surprised. Thoroughly recommended.

Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000)

Not a masterpiece, but if you are British, quiet entertaining.

[9/10 · 21 October 2007]

I like the film, I gave it a 7, I even use a quote as my signature ("all I wanna do is do it") but I can see that it is not an amazing film, but it does what it says on the tin: its a Harry Enfield comedy - so its a puerile, toilet humour driven extended comic sketch. But it does have an awesome soundtrack, and does chronicle, in a comical way, the rights of passage for a British teenager from the late 90's and the traditional image of holiday with your parents in THE place to be at the time - ibiza.

I was a teenager in the 90's, I loved and still love dance music, I went to ibiza many times and now even live here, and I, like millions of other brits at the time, was a fan of Harry Enfields comedy. So for those reasons, this was more than a reasonable evenings entertainment. If you are looking for a masterpiece of comedy, then Anchorman is a good place to start, so too is The Office. Don't look in the direction of this film unless you know what you are going to get in advance - Lowest common denominator humour that pulls no punches and loves what it is. Enjoy!

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

best acting performances of the year so far

[10/10 · 8 January 2007]

This year is but 9 days old, and I already know I have seen the best movie of the year. The history books will show that this film was released in 2006, but nothing from that year can compare to this either, so it is in my opinion the best movie of two years! Will Smith plays a struggling single father trying to make the best life that he can for his family and for himself. The part is played to perfection, and shows a true master of the craft. His comic timing is still evident in the lighter moments, but it is his sincerity in playing a man with no options, no family, no help and little hope that shows him shining.

Special praise should also be reserved for Will's own son Jaden, who plays Christopher Gardner Jnr. Some people hate child actors, but its perhaps that they are not good child actors... Jaden is a great one. I challenge anyone to point to a scene where he even gives the slightest of hints that he is acting... perhaps it was perfect casting to put a real father and son together here, as they are an outstanding double act playing themselves in different, more downtrodden circumstances.

I rarely give movies a full 10, but this throughly deserved it, and should be an example to us all on how movies should be made, and even how we look at our own lives and wonder if we are living up to our own potential in our own "pursuit of happiness" Outstanding.

Slip (2006)

Intriguing and ambitious, but some serious plot flaws

[5/10 · 24 November 2006]

On the grand scheme of things, and when looked at on a level par with big budget movies of a similar genre, it fall down with some weak script points, direction and acting (although I personally thought that both Cal & Tre did the best with what they had).

But with a miniscule budget and limited resources in mind, this is actually not a bad effort and perhaps deserves a higher score than I have given it.

That said, there were some flaws. From an audience point of view I was interested in the basic theme and its implementation. But certain scenes and characters added nothing to either plot or story. Poor acting (wide open eyes in every scene no matter what emotion was needed to be conveyed) from Stacey Paige (Julia) and the introduction of the evil version of Sarah, just had me wishing that they had never even been created.

I downloaded this movie from the internet, I had never heard of it, but I like movies, so I figured I would give it a go. But the first scene had me both confused, and in a mood to give it up and switch it off. It left me with the feeling as though I was watching a student movie and the director was trying to show me how different he could be by instantly shoving an odd set piece complete with introduction of the bad guy and the heroin in a desert shoot out. After forcing myself to make it to the end of this scene, Cal enters the story and it settles down to be quite enjoyable from there on in (albeit with more strange flashbacks that lead nowhere and teach us nothing) By bringing Cal and his easy going demeanor to the forefront from then on in, this movie looked on the up. His performance as a kid from the bad side of the tracks who wants to go straight (is there ever another kind?) was both sincere and entertaining. His meeting with Sarah made for a strange partnership but it kind of works. But then, every now and again she would just go off on some random 'ghosts need me' mission... including into a maternity hospital to visit a grieving husband who's wife has just died giving birth.

Where is her room? Just over there, go in... help yourself; she only just died 10 minutes ago.

Hey, I am a total stranger to you, but can I hold your baby (10 minutes old) that is your only connection to your now dead wife? Yes, sure... here you go. Do I know you? I am sorry, but this whole scene stank of needing a re-write. Where at any point would this seem feasible... no matter what connection Sarah has with the dead they were trying to show, no new dad is going to let some random, beaten up crying stranger take his kid from him like that. She came across like someone who was more likely to steal a baby than anything else.

And the finale of Sarah and Tommy's supernatural showdown was such a total anti-climax… "he made me do it…" and unneeded. His entire presence as someone who just followed Sarah around torturing anyone that she left alive could have been completely cut from the script and nothing would have been lost (except screen time) but much would have been gained (feasible plot and ending).

Where this film should have concentrated on the Cal, Tre, Sarah triangle and the struggles to overcome the wrongful accusations and the revenge that needed to be taken on those setting him up, it was dragged down by Tommy's appearances and obsession with finding out "how does she stop the voices?!" I think that a five is a good score for the film on a whole. But if the likes of the godfather and lord of the rings were to be made on the same budget, I would expect a similar result. So 10/10 for what resulted from such a small budget ($50,000 really????) but more could have been done before shooting began to make it better (i.e. the script). I would still be interested in seeing whatever they produced next though… hopefully with a bigger budget so that they can show what they can really do with some backing and with some time

Death of a President (2006)

Well acted, feasible look at the aftermath of a presidential assassination

[8/10 · 3 November 2006]

It,s not perfect, but then this genre of movie is very difficult to perfect.

The documentary style was very well done, and very convincing. I would even say that the acting looked so real, it would not surprise me if there was indeed no script, but just general guidelines on what each character would/should say. obviously i knew that this was not a real documentary, but it did have me wonder if each of the "experts" called forward to give their side of the story had in fact worked in their characters capacity at some point in the past as the parts were done so well.

I was less impressed with the final 20 minutes or so, and found the eventual conclusion to be flimsy, and overtly thought provoking... as if they decided to try and give a twist that was unexpected just for the sake of it.

Apart from a few minor plot issues like this, i really did think that this was a very convincing look at how a post assassination investigation and aftermath may look like. It is neither negative towards Bush or his standpoints. It in fact shows him to be in a very positive light whilst showing the anger and frustration of others at his actions towards Iraq and conflict in general.

In all, Death of a President was a very entertaining mockumentary and deserves to be seen. It does not incite violence, nor does it glorify war or Bush, it is more or less just a simple look at what would happen IF this were to really happen.

Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)

All the ingredients are there, but they didn't switch the oven on!

[2/10 · 13 September 2006]

The original movie is, and will always be, among my favorites of all time.

Then, this comes along... for whatever reason, i never got around to going to the cinema to watch it. perhaps out of fear for it forever ruining the memory of the original. So it was only just last year that i managed to bring myself to watch this monstrosity of a movie. The premise was there, albeit with a very tenuous plot, and the main characters were all there from the original (with the obvious exception of John Belushi) and the musical set pieces were all there too, but something was still missing. I found myself fast forwarding through all the songs to get to the end as quickly as possible.

There just seemed to be a lack of any real interest in making a real sequel rather than just a re-hash of the original. This movie was almost just like a TV reunion of the original cast and just showing them do the original scenes out of interest to see if they could still do it.

If your memory of the original holds a place in your heart, then avoid this terrible mess of a sequel. And if you have seen this but not the original, then get yourself to the store and buy a copy to show you how it should be done!

Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

Worst Movie in a long long time

[1/10 · 27 April 2005]

I am actually shocked that this film has received anything even remotely respectable as a score (currently 6.2). I was looking forward to reading other people slate this movie as the badly written, badly acted, incredibly badly edited, badly directed black hole of a movie with literally no engaging character development whatsoever.

A friend bought this DVD in a shop called "poundland" in the UK. it is where everything is, you guessed it, £1. I watched this film and immediately told him that he had been ripped off. I have never stopped watching a film (i came close with scary movie 3) once i have started, and i so wanted there to be some sort of redeeming feature somewhere so that i could say that this wasn't "all that bad" but i didn't find one...

The closest that i came finding something good was that i thought that the end credits were good, well done and in keeping with what this film was meant to be... shame that the film, didn't turn out to be what it wanted to be...

Avoid at all costs.