Film Guide

Anyone who knows me, or reads some of my rants will know that I’m not a fan of 3D movies. I never got to see Clash whilst it had it’s cinema run, and the fact that it was converted to 3D to make some extra money doesn’t bother me. But it’s interesting that the best feeling of 3D I’ve had recently was whilst watching the BluRay opening scenes, where the camera glides through the cosmos. It literally felt like I could dive into the TV and float through space. Yet it as the ‘2D’ version.

Ok, enough, lets get down to the review. Clash for me was one of those films that I hadn’t payed much attention to, but figured it was a grown up version of Percy Jackson, with Sam Worthington accepting his destiny as he fights the Gods as modern day New York crumbles around him.

Sadly – at least initially – I discovered it was set in the ancient times, and Sam Worthington was Perseus, a demi god who didn’t know he was special, until destiny called him.

The film starts off with Perseus watching the only family he has know die at the hands of an angry god. Turning his back on the god he once worshipped Perseus volunteers to lead a mission to defeat hades and bring judgement to the gods – he’s a man with a mission and with nothing to live for, he’s not afraid to die.  Read the rest of this entry »

When did this film come out at the movies? It completely passed me by until the local video store started plastering the DVD promotion poster on their window recently. For this reason I was really curious about this film – after watching the DVD however I can understand why it didn’t go anywhere at the cinemas.

The story is meant to centre on the intense and new relationship between Tyler (played by Robert Pattinson and possibly the reason most women have watched this movie) and Ally (Emilie de Ravin or the Aussie girl from TV’s Lost). Both have experienced family tragedy which they are coping with in very different ways: Tyler by self-destructing and Ally by seising every moment.

Despite the cover synopsis I think that the heart of the film is in the relationship between Tyler and his younger sister, Caroline (Ruby Jerins). The major plot elements are driven by events that occur in Caroline’s life and the way the Hawkin’s family, especially Tyler and his father (Pierce Brosnan), respond.

Ally isn’t necessary to most of that plot. Her father, who is put into the story very heavily, is also unnecessary and his actions seem unrealistic and yet like a thousand movie dads/cops we have seen before. I would have liked to see much less of the Tyler/Ally romance and much more of the Hawkin’s family in general – Jerins is charming as Caroline and I found myself caring for her a great deal. Pierce Brosnan had an interesting and complex character to portray and Mr Hawkin’s could have been further engaged with on-screen.  Read the rest of this entry »

The residents of Port Gamble are a quiet lot. They live a slow paced lifestyle, but harbour your typical post 9/11 American prejudices; including homophobia and a fanatical anti Muslin bent. And this is where director Kevin Hamedani steps in with his very B-grade Zombie political comedy.

The film could be summed up in three words; cheap, cheese, splatter. But it goes further, it actually ends up in the so bad it’s good basket. The humour whilst stretched for a lot of the time hits some glorious notes, as does the heavy handed political posturing.

As far as B-grade zombie films goes, it’s on the mark with enough fake blood and laughs to keep most fans happy.  Read the rest of this entry »

Date Night is what I’d call “dumb-fun-cinema” which, despite how that sounds, actually managed to exceed my expectations. Now available on DVD I hadn’t bothered to see it at the movies, it looked like a predictable slapstick American comedy. But there is something more to Date Night. The storyline – though unbelievable – never turns ludicrous and there is a real connection and friendship visible between the two main actors, Steve Carell and Tina Fay, which brings warmth to the screen.

Steve Carell and Tina Fay play Phil and Claire Foster, an identifiable middle-class busy family. They genuinely love each other and work at their relationship but, after some friends split up because things are just ‘too perfect and familiar’, the Fosters too begin worrying they might be becoming just ‘great roommates’.

So, they take matters in hand. Claire gets all fancied up and Phil takes her to the city for their date night, breaking the regular local steakhouse routine. When they can’t get a table it looks like their efforts at romance are wasted until Phil decides to solve things by taking someone’s reservation. Bad move. What ensues is a classic comedy of mistaken identity as the couple are chased by gangsters, bad cops and good cops and aided by stolen cars and retail clients.  Read the rest of this entry »

If predictable, by the numbers rom-coms are your thing – and lets face it, most rom-coms are predictable, by the numbers affairs – then Bounty Hunter will fit the bill nicely for an evening on the couch.

Gerard Butler plays ex-cop and down-on-his-luck bounty hunter Milo Boyd, living from pay cheque to pay cheque after a particularly messy break up made him a depressive divorcee.

But then an easy, well paid job lands on his lap – he has to pick up his ex-wife whose just jumped bail due to go after a hot story that might just give her career as a reporter a much needed lift.

Predictably, after easily tracking her down, Milo’s ex Nicole manages to give him the slip and the cat and mouse game begins, with both of them rekindling some of their romantic feelings for each other along the way.  Read the rest of this entry »

I know I Probably say this every time a new season of Top Gear comes out on DVD, but I’m going to say it again, because it’s true: Top Gear just keeps getting better and better. Case in point is episode 1 of season 12, where Clarkson, May and Hammond are given the challenge of each buying a truck. Then they are given a series of challenges to complete. If you’ve seen much of Top Gear before you’ll know that whilst on paper, completing challenges in a big truck might not sound like fun, but what actually transpires is. What’s more, I had already seen this challenge on a precious Top Gear Challenges DVD, yet I all most wet my self with laughter watching this episode all over again.

In fact I think I could watch it again and still come away with tears streaming down my face from laughing too much.

Of course, one episode does not a season make, and to be honest, some episodes do seem a little on the slow side. But even a slow episode is more fun than most TV shows that get screened on our TVs these days.  Read the rest of this entry »

Five Minutes Of Heaven takes a look at a small piece of Irish history and then carefully weaves in a tense and well paced ‘what if’ scenario for the future.

In 1975, 11-year old Catholic Joe Griffin witnessed the killing of his brother by a young Ulster Volunteer Force member, Alistair Little. The impact of the murder destroyed the lives of Joe and his family, who could not come to terms with the loss.

Working closely with both men, screenwriter Guy Hibbert creates a unique and compelling film that moves from a powerful re-enactment of these tragic events to a fictional interpretation of what might happen should these two men ever come face to face.

The film starts off with grainy news footage of some of the more volatile moments in the 70’s, then draws us into the story as we witness a young Alistair Little fussing about his appearance as he gets ready for a night out at a local dance. Things take a sinister turn however, when Little reaches under his bed and pulls out his box of cherished childhood toys. Hidden carefully i n his bag of Lego is a hand gun and bullets. He carefully removes the gun and slowly loads it. Then he fusses some more, trying to decide where best to carry the gun, whilst looking good for the night ahead.  Read the rest of this entry »

An unknown plague has turned most of the world’s population into vampires and as the human race nears extinction, vampires realise they have to capture and farm every remaining human and find a blood substitute before human blood runs dry. Of course, a renegade group of vampires believes there must be a better way, and there is. They make a remarkable discovery that has the power to save the human race.

But wait, there’s more.

The vampires in charge don’t really want substitute blood, or the ability to save humanity. What a shocker.

So yeah, Daybreakers does suffer from a degree of cheeseosity, with a fairly predictable plot. But, it does have a nice little twist and raises some interesting concepts.  Read the rest of this entry »

In a small Romanian town, circa 1953, an illicit romance between two young lovers is causing friction between their respective families. In a bid to quell the fighting, they agree to marry. Ensuing wedding festivities are curtailed however, when the occupying Soviet forces order a week of mourning for the death of Joseph Stalin. Despite a prohibition on any gatherings, the villagers decide to stage the wedding celebration and have their feast, albeit in silence – less any noise attract some unwanted attention. A band ‘plays’, speeches are made, and dances are had, all in silence. However some things, are worth making a noise about, consequences be damned.

Silent wedding isn’t a typical premise, and the movie director is likewise not afraid to take atypical direction in delivering the story. It isn’t in every film that the crux of the story centres on some 15 minutes of essentially ‘silent’ cinema. Not that it is actually silent – noise, and the attempt to reduce it, plays an integral part of the silent wedding. Your normal Hollywood blockbuster would normally equate ‘louder’ with ‘better’, so it is refreshing to watch a movie that dedicates a substantial amount of time to the art of not making noise.  Read the rest of this entry »

What does it mean to be exiled in your own country? That’s the question posed by The Axe in the Attic, a raw and honest look at a country that forgot a segment of it’s population in their hour of need.

Self funded and definitely rough around the edges, it’s the raw honesty coupled with the emotional subject matter that make this such a compelling watch.

Film maker Lucia Small persuaded documentary maker Ed Pincus to come out of retirement and join her on a 60 day road trip from New England all the way down to New Orleans and the surrounding cities and towns to speak to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Talking to the survivors, many of them now living as refugees in different towns, or purpose built trailer parks, or in tents on the foundations of their former homes, Lucia and Ed discover a myriad of different stories with one common thread – the pain and suffering of not being able to go home, to go back to their jobs, to earn a living. Forcibly made out to be bludgers, yet fighting tooth and nail with bureaucracy to get even a dime, or permission to clean up their home and start rebuilding.  Read the rest of this entry »