Category Archives: Cinema

Dec 26 2011

2011 a look back – part two

Continuing my look back over my viewing habits on this blog in 2011, we have now reached the second quarter that brought some definite highlights and some very welcome old favourites.  Hope you enjoy reading…

April – June

April continued my rediscovery of all things Kung-fu, with Korean actioner Chocolate, that although low-budget and rough around the edges, did deliver some remarkable fights and a great physical performance from Jeeja Yanin.  Nicholas Cage made a sort-of return to form with the semi-remake of Bad Lieutenant, and delivered the kind of zany, method-actor intensity Cage has been lacking for some time now.   Yet it was Mickey Rourke in his Oscar winning role of The Wrestler which really turned my head, and proved that director Darren Aronofsky hadn’t just fluked it with Black Swan.  I also finally got to see the final part of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy with The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest, but with a sidelined Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) and a court-room heavy plot, this was a disappointing conclusion.  Thankfully the teen comedy fun of Easy A washed over such feelings making for a smart and  enjoyable movie, with a star-making turn from the brilliant Emma Stone.

May kicked off with scary-as-hell supernatural horror Insidious, which although proceedings got a little silly towards the end, had some of the freakiest and scariest moments of 2011.   Thor launched the block buster season in grand fashion with a comically likable Chris Hemsworth and some great action, effects and a decent villain … whilst Disney’s 50th movie Tangled made for a classically gorgeous fairy tale adventure with a great comedy horse, plenty of personality and enjoyable songs – what more could one wish for?

June saw the summer really get into its stride for me, with sci-fi sequel Tron Legacy impressing on a visual and aural basis, even if the movie itself lacked that special ‘something’.  Thankfully comic-book actioner X-Men: First Class stepped up to show how effects-laiden event pictures should be done, and personally, I found it the best X-Men yet.   Then the fun and frolicks came crashing down to earth with a bump with the stunning I Saw The Devil, possibly Korean’s boldest take on the serial-killer movie genre yet … blood soaked, brilliantly acted and with exhilarating direction from Jee-Woon Kim.  Then an old favourite paid a visit in the form of the blu-ray extended cuts of The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, and rediscovering these modern  classics was a sheer joy.

…Stay tuned for the next part in my 2011 reminiscing, coming imminently.

Dec 24 2011

2011 a look back – part one

Thought I would take a look back at the last twelve months on this blog and offer up a definitive review of the year.  It is going to be split into the four quarters of the year, and will conclude with my final Top Ten.  Hope you enjoy reading the following highlights and disappointments…

January – March

January kicked off somewhat underwhelming with Sci-fi horror Splice, which although entertaining, didn’t make for a particularly memorable movie overall.   That couldn’t be said of the gore & tits fest that was Piranha 3D, certainly one of the most immediately entertaining movies this year, even if it’s b-movie styling means some may pass it off as rubbish.  Scott Pilgrim Vs The World was another highlight, with its clever camera-work and comic book meets video game style, and as ever Michael Cera was a joy.   Disappointing was the Sylvester Stallone, Jason Stathan, Dolph Lundrgren testosterone orgy The Expendables, case of a great idea badly realized … Perhaps Stallone should have left directing honours to someone else?

Once we hit February however, one of the best movies was Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours; a stunning achievement in taking a true-life tale of survival and making it both powerful, gut-wrenching and funny, with a startling central performance from James Franco.  Then as if something was in the water as far as movie releases were concerned, we also got Black Swan, a heart breaking, chilling exploration of madness with a brilliant turn from Natalie Portman and top-class directing honours from Darren Aronofsky.   It was no surprise that Portman would then scoop Best Actress at the Oscars the same month.  Of course such a run of top-class movies couldn’t last long, and the enjoyable Paul starring the usually excellent Simon Pegg and Nick Frost crumbled slightly under its reliance on one gag … a funny smart-mouthed alien.  Thankfully February concluded nicely with the surprising The House Of The Devil, a great throw-back to 70′s occult horrors like Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen, and despite a low-budget, really delivered.

March seemed to be the month I (albeit briefly) got my kung-fu movie loving mojo back, and offered up two impressive examples namely Donny Yen starrers Ip Man & Ip Man 2, expertly and stylishly directed by Yen himself and both offering fascinating tales of a true-life martial arts master.   Animated comedy Despicable Me was a gem, and in my opinion outclassed Toy Story 3 for pure entertainment, and with a heart-warming story, really impressed.  Takers, a heist movie starring Hayden Christensen, Idris Elba and Paul Walker was a satisfying if unimaginative take on movies like Heat.  The Disappearance Of Alice Creed offered up a gritty brit-thriller with a brave, revealing turn from Gemma Arterton, and concluding March was Ozzy toungue-in-cheek horror The Loved Ones, offering up stalkers, unrequited love and cannibalistic ex-boyfriends!

…Stay tuned for my run down of the following three months soon.

Dec 19 2011

End Of Year musings…

Well, 2011 is almost over and with Christmas on the horizon, it seems unlikely (but not impossible) that I will get to see many more movies before the year is out.  With that in mind I am currently compiling an end of year Top Ten taken from the reviews on this blog in the last twelve months.  Now as an amateur critic / blogger I haven’t been able to see all the best movies that have hit cinemas in 2011, so some choices will inevitably be from movies released last year that I only recently managed to check out on DVD or Blu-ray.  It definitely shouldn’t be taken as a definitive 2011 Top Ten, but more a list of my favourite movies as viewed in 2011.  I’ll try to not make any entry older than 2010 if possible.

I won’t give anything away though and I’m sure regular readers will have their own ideas what might appear in the list.  Until then (end of the month), watch this space!

Related articles
Dec 15 2011

The Thing

Viewed – 14 December 2011  Cinema

When I first heard about this, I as many I presume, was up in arms.  John Carpenter’s 1982 classic was one of the defining horror movies of the 80s and along with assured acting chops from Kurt Russell and brilliantly freaky make-up effects from Rob Bottin, surely revisiting such a movie should be considered unthinkable?  Well in the current vogue of remaking everything (big breath … Halloween, A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday The 13th, Prom Night) it is clear to me Hollywood is feeling  a little dry on the new ideas-front.  Yet wait!  This one isn’t a remake … it’s a prequel.  So erm, that’s alright then, yeah?

Continue reading →

Nov 27 2011

Inglorious Basterds

First viewing - 23 August 2009  Cinema

Second viewing – 27 November 2011  Blu-ray

The Redux Review

I had a feeling this would happen.  When I originally watched this movie, I wasn’t that impressed.  Perhaps I was expected something else, or I had a very cynical head going in.  For the next movie by acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino, it went in directions I as a self-confessed Tarantino fan hadn’t expected, or could appreciate.  His trade mark clever dialogue is for the most part, in either German or French with subtitles.    And I couldn’t enjoy the long drawn out scenes of talking leading up to violence.  I don’t know what it was … but having sat through it a second time now, I fully understand what Tarantino was doing, creating some of the most tense scenes I have witnessed in a long time, and the violence, when it comes, grabs you by the throat.  It was very bold of him to make the dialogue authentic to the setting, and along with his very believable, emotionally engrossing characterisation – I was gripped.

Continue reading →