Category Archives: Hollywood

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!

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Nov 6 2011

Oeuvre : Drew Struzan

Received this very nice book in the post yesterday which chronicles the life’s work of probably the most celebrated Hollywood poster artist of all time.  This very talented man has created some of the best movie poster art ever seen, and somewhere in this massive collection, you will have more than a few favourites.  I have taken some pictures for you to get an idea of the content in this book, but really, this is something any self-respecting movie fan should own immediately.

Click each image for a larger vew.

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Feb 28 2011

Oscars results are in!

So being a common or garden Englishman without a subscription to Sky television, I did not get to watch the Academy Awards last night.  However I was pleased to see that a few of my predictions were bang on the nail, namely Christian Bale getting Best Supporting Actor and Colin Firth getting Best Actor.  I think 127 Hours’ James Franco, also the host for the evening, was robbed however as his performance in that film simply amazed me, but at least the academy made up for such a oversite with Natalie Portman getting Best Actress.  Well deserved.  I was hoping that Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky had got the nod rather than the guy who made The King’s Speech, but at least that particular movie got just four awards, for Best Picture and Original Screenplay also, rather than the gushing ridiculousness that was the Baftas.

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