Having been very lucky in going to see two films in the space of around 4 hours, Zombieland gets the praise, with it's gory, occasionally jumpy, and frequently funny outing.
The story is no different to any Zombie film that we've seen. A virus spread through America, infecting pretty much everyone, apart from Columbus, played by the awesome Jesse Eisenberg, Tallahassee, played by the brilliant Woody Harrelson, Witchita, played by the lovely Emma Stone and Little Rock, played by the sometimes annoying, yet amusing, Abigail Breslin.
Jesse Eisenberg is fast becoming the new teen comedy star, quickly taking over Michael Cera, who I don't think is any good anyway. And this film really epitomises that. He plays the all alone geek Columbus, just trying to get to Columbus, Ohio to find his parents, or rather to see whether they're still alive, or one of the undead. And his performance is superb, his simple visual jokes and his many one-liners are one of the many highlights of the film, along with the brilliant Rules that Columbus thinks up to survive a Zombie plagued country, and, surprisingly, the opening credits, which was just pure brilliance.
The zombies of this film are the zombies of 28 Days/Weeks Later. They're not dead, they're infected, and can run, rather than the typical slow zombies that stumble along. These running zombies are much scarier than your average Joe zombies, and really suit this film well, keeping the laughs and the constant on edge-ness of a zombie could run at you quite quickly anywhere keep the horror comedy going, and it's bloody good.
And, as every other critic has mentioned in every review I've read, but for those of you who don't know, there is a rather big cameo in it. It's a he, and it's easily the best cameo I've ever seen, giving me the biggest laugh I've had in a long, long time when in the cinema, since probably The Hangover, and that was months and months ago.
This film is just superb on so many different levels, and puts it, for me, on a par with Shaun of the Dead, Simon Pegg's brilliant British RomZomCom, or maybe even better. It's just awesome, it's not a classic, which is when I only give 5/5 (District 9 and The Hangover), but it's oh so very close.
8.5/10.
Oh, and always Check The Back Seats.
Friday 23 October 2009
Thursday 22 October 2009
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
The film that has the award for the weirdest title of a film I've reviewed so far. And, even though this film won't win any other awards, it was a satisfactory experience.
As you should all know, or you've all turned into hermits, this is Heath Ledger's final performance. His curtain call. His final shabang. And you'd've thought that this would be his best performance ever, even better than his Joker. Sadly, though this is a rather good performance, he doesn't live up to his Joker. But what his performance as the mysterious Tony shows is that Mr. Ledger really could've been one of the great actors of our generation, but he was cut short, and, apologies for the cliché, the cinema will miss him.
Anyway, soppyness aside, the film needs reviewing. The story is rather complicated. Dr Parnassus is an extremely old man who has this ability that is never really explained, but at a guess, his mind is extremely powerful and can make people walk through this magic mirror of his into they're perfect world, they're imagination really. Now, I'm going to try and avoid any spoilers, Parnassus makes a bet with the Devil to do with getting 5 souls and the first to 5 souls wins. The victory is something to do with Parnassus' daughter, but that is never really explained either.
So, the film is a confusing one, and not very self-explanitory, leaving the viewer to join the dots and come up to their own solutions to the many questions asked by the film. It isn't looking too good for Terry Gilliam's film, but on the whole, it's quite good.
The effects are excellent, especially when they go through the magic mirror. The acting is good, Heath Ledger standing out, however I found Parnassus' daughter exceptionally annoying.
To summarise, the film was average for me, we were expecting an epic, but sadly it wasn't.
6.1/10.
As you should all know, or you've all turned into hermits, this is Heath Ledger's final performance. His curtain call. His final shabang. And you'd've thought that this would be his best performance ever, even better than his Joker. Sadly, though this is a rather good performance, he doesn't live up to his Joker. But what his performance as the mysterious Tony shows is that Mr. Ledger really could've been one of the great actors of our generation, but he was cut short, and, apologies for the cliché, the cinema will miss him.
Anyway, soppyness aside, the film needs reviewing. The story is rather complicated. Dr Parnassus is an extremely old man who has this ability that is never really explained, but at a guess, his mind is extremely powerful and can make people walk through this magic mirror of his into they're perfect world, they're imagination really. Now, I'm going to try and avoid any spoilers, Parnassus makes a bet with the Devil to do with getting 5 souls and the first to 5 souls wins. The victory is something to do with Parnassus' daughter, but that is never really explained either.
So, the film is a confusing one, and not very self-explanitory, leaving the viewer to join the dots and come up to their own solutions to the many questions asked by the film. It isn't looking too good for Terry Gilliam's film, but on the whole, it's quite good.
The effects are excellent, especially when they go through the magic mirror. The acting is good, Heath Ledger standing out, however I found Parnassus' daughter exceptionally annoying.
To summarise, the film was average for me, we were expecting an epic, but sadly it wasn't.
6.1/10.
Wednesday 14 October 2009
Up
Pixar is back to our big screens, and it's back with a...well, glide really.
Up is Disney Pixar's latest film to grace our cinema screens since the brilliant Wall-E last year, and my god I've missed Pixar. Pixar is so unbelievably imaginative and brilliant, that I just have to watch one of them every month or so. Toy Story is the clear favourite, but Finding Nemo and The Incredibles are extremely close. But, what really makes this stand out from the rest? Well, it's in 3D of course, and me being and avid film reviewer and cinema-goer, I decided to see it in...2D.
Don't get me wrong, 3D is really good, and I'm looking forward hugely to the December epic, Avatar, which will be totally in 3D. But there're some films that I really don't see why it's 3D. The Final Destination was in 3D, and that really didn't add much to the movie, even though it was poor, I didn't see the point of it. I think Up is much of the same. I was watching it trying to figure out where the 3D moments would be, cause I really couldn't see many. Maybe the title "Up" in the sky would've been 3D, and possibly the blimp and Kevin's beak would be 3D, but that's really about it. I'll watch a film in 3D, but only if the film was made to be seen in 3D, not just that it's available in 3D if you wish.
Now, to the film. The story is simple, an old man ties a million balloons to his house and floats away. And even that's brilliant in itself, but the story is so different from anything we've ever seen, and from the people who brought us Toy Story, that's an incredible feat. But, this film contains something Pixar has never done before - true sadness. Toy Story 2 came close with Jessie's song, but there's been no real sadness that do make you feel sad. After the first 5 minutes, there is a 5 - 10 minute montage, completely silent with a slow piano playing in the background. I won't give away what happens, but it really is sad, and it makes you feel for old Carl, who, on a side note, is an absolute spitting image of my Grandpa. And that's where the film really gets started, you feel sorry for Carl, and you will him on in every where he goes, him and his unintentional sidekick, Russell, all the way to their epic adventure through a South American jungle.
We all love those small facial expressions, the attention to detail, the real life-likeness of the whole thing. That's what Pixar is all about. It's CGI, but it feels so real, like anything can happen. And that really is what happened. Anything could happen, and I think that was it's slight downfall for me. I loved it, yes, but I noticed something's that didn't quite match up. Like at the beginning of the movie, Carl needed a walking stick badly, and was walking very slowly and tentatively. But as the movie went on, he started running around like he was 22. He was 76. Now, maybe that was the point of the film, to show what happens when you fulfil your dreams, but I'm probably looking to deep into things, but I thought that wasn't like Pixar. Pixar always do things spot on, and in Up, it wasn't quite right in my book.
Russell, for me, was the absolute star of the show. You just couldn't help but laugh or just crack a smile whenever you saw him, because he really was a comically brilliant character. His many one-liners had me laughing out loud, as usual, and I loved him, he was brilliant.
I love Pixar. They're just unbelievable. But, I don't think this film is as good as the others. Wall-E. Finding Nemo. Toy Story. Toy Story 2. A Bug's Life. The Incredibles. They were all better than this one in my book. You come out smiling, oh you do, and it makes you laugh, but they've done better. And seen as I recently saw another animation, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, given the choice, I'd take Cloudy.
7.7/10
Please Toy Story 3. Be absolutely wonderful.
Thursday 1 October 2009
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
The latest animation that took my fancy was the Sony Production, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It had a potentially very amusing premise, with animated destruction guaranteed, but the quality wasn't only in the animation, it was the wit, and voice acting that steals the show in this occasionally laugh out loud hilarious film.
The story? A wannabe scientist, Flint Lockwood (voiced by the always hilarious Bill Hader) creates a machine that can turn water into food, and, after an accident involving an explosion, Shamu the Sardine and Mr T, the machine shoots off into the air. The machine's water-to-food system reacts with the clouds, and in turn, making it rain food whenever Flint tells it to. And so, he soon becomes the town hero, but naturally, it doesn't go to plan, and destruction occurs.
I found it a very clever plot, and considering it was a U certificate, I thought it was very clever, and more adult orientated. The kids watching would be mesmerized by the falling food, but the adults would be captivatd by the plain-sight visual jokes, the hilarious lines and, more than anything else, the small visual jokes in the background that will take a number of views to catch every single one. For example, there are often short shots of different cities such as New York, London and Paris, and, in New York in particular, there are numerous billboards, and I could only ever read one in that space of time. But, I can assure you, there will be at least 5 jokes on those billboards.
Anna Faris plays Flint's love interest with apprentice-turned-weathergirl, Sam Sparks, and it's the weathergirls scenes that really steal the show. It's not Sam's jokes, it's that whenever she broadcasts the news, there is a ticker accross the bottom of the screen. The kids will be watching the film, but the mature audience will know that there will be an abundance of jokes just scrolling accross, oblivious to the kids, but often during those scenes, the children would be very quiet, but you could hear numerous adults laughing out loud at certain news stories, me included.
This is what I love about animation. Pixar often do background jokes, but Sony have taken it a step further, with there being something to see at every single moment in the film. You could argue that it's taking your attention from the film, but you just can't help looking around the screen at every person and every sign, hoping for a comedy gem that no one else notices.
The film's effects are nothing short of outstanding. This wasn't a typical animation, it wasn't so perfectly clean as films like Toy Story or Shrek, but that added to the character of the movie, and added to our main character. Flint was not the perfect guy, the animation wasn't state-of-the-art brilliant, but by not being brilliant, it was. They concentrated on the story-line, targeting every audience, and they hit the nail bang on the head.
Unfortunately, the film's second half wasn't as crisp as the first, concentrating on the tense moments of Flint trying to save the day, but that didn't really bother me. I'd spent so much of the first half laughing, that I needed a lull to calm myself down. An excellent children's comedy, that, I feel, adults will get so much more out of.
8.3/10.
The story? A wannabe scientist, Flint Lockwood (voiced by the always hilarious Bill Hader) creates a machine that can turn water into food, and, after an accident involving an explosion, Shamu the Sardine and Mr T, the machine shoots off into the air. The machine's water-to-food system reacts with the clouds, and in turn, making it rain food whenever Flint tells it to. And so, he soon becomes the town hero, but naturally, it doesn't go to plan, and destruction occurs.
I found it a very clever plot, and considering it was a U certificate, I thought it was very clever, and more adult orientated. The kids watching would be mesmerized by the falling food, but the adults would be captivatd by the plain-sight visual jokes, the hilarious lines and, more than anything else, the small visual jokes in the background that will take a number of views to catch every single one. For example, there are often short shots of different cities such as New York, London and Paris, and, in New York in particular, there are numerous billboards, and I could only ever read one in that space of time. But, I can assure you, there will be at least 5 jokes on those billboards.
Anna Faris plays Flint's love interest with apprentice-turned-weathergirl, Sam Sparks, and it's the weathergirls scenes that really steal the show. It's not Sam's jokes, it's that whenever she broadcasts the news, there is a ticker accross the bottom of the screen. The kids will be watching the film, but the mature audience will know that there will be an abundance of jokes just scrolling accross, oblivious to the kids, but often during those scenes, the children would be very quiet, but you could hear numerous adults laughing out loud at certain news stories, me included.
This is what I love about animation. Pixar often do background jokes, but Sony have taken it a step further, with there being something to see at every single moment in the film. You could argue that it's taking your attention from the film, but you just can't help looking around the screen at every person and every sign, hoping for a comedy gem that no one else notices.
The film's effects are nothing short of outstanding. This wasn't a typical animation, it wasn't so perfectly clean as films like Toy Story or Shrek, but that added to the character of the movie, and added to our main character. Flint was not the perfect guy, the animation wasn't state-of-the-art brilliant, but by not being brilliant, it was. They concentrated on the story-line, targeting every audience, and they hit the nail bang on the head.
Unfortunately, the film's second half wasn't as crisp as the first, concentrating on the tense moments of Flint trying to save the day, but that didn't really bother me. I'd spent so much of the first half laughing, that I needed a lull to calm myself down. An excellent children's comedy, that, I feel, adults will get so much more out of.
8.3/10.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)