Film Review: INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: David Koepp (Screenplay), George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson (Story)
Running time: 117 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 12A

Watched on DVD Monday 31st August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Having seen all three of the previous films in this franchise, I was interested to see what the fourth one would bring, particularly with there being such a big gap since the third. I guess I’m asking a lot for it to be as good, if not better than the first three, but I put the disc in the machine with a glimpse of hope in my heart. I remember not long after it came out the news reports were a bit quiet, and now I know why. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good, but not as good as the other three, unfortunately by some margin. It’s almost as if the writers had run out of good ideas, the acting, production, direction and cinematography were all fine, but the script fell a tad short of the mark. Anyhow, let me tell you a bit about the plot.

It’s 1957 and Professor Jones and his sidekick ‘Mac’ have been kidnapped by the Russians and taken to a secret US military storage facility. They want Prof. Jones to locate a particular crate that he was responsible for packing back in 1947. Having located the crate and escaping the Russians, using the cover of a nuclear test, Prof. Jones returns to teaching. He is not there for long when he is told that the FBI are putting pressure on the Dean to have him removed. He leaves only to be met by the young Mutt Williams, who tells him about how his old friend and colleague Professor Oxley has disappeared whilst working in Peru. Following clues in a letter written to Prof. Jones, the pair decide to try to find Prof. Oxley. Unfortunately, the Russians would also like to know the whereabouts of Professor Oxley…

The plot has a lot of twists and turns in it, my little summary of the beginning doesn’t do it justice. I think the trouble is the plot is a bit too complicated; it’s almost as if all the ideas for an Indiana Jones film were poured out in this one movie. I hope they’ve kept some back. Anyway, great performances from all of the main characters, Harrison Ford strapping on the whip once again as Indiana Jones, Cate Blanchett as his evil Russian nemesis Irina Spalko, Karen Allen reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood, Shia LaBeouf as the young Mutt Williams, Ray Winstone as ‘Mac’ George Michale and John Hurt as Professor Oxley. As I said at the beginning, great production and direction, as we should expect from Steven Spielberg, but just lacking something in the script department.

My score: 6.5/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0367882/
Official Site: http://www.indianajones.com/site/index.html

Film Review: COOL RUNNINGS (1993)

Director: Jon Turteltaub
Running time: 98 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): PG

Watched on Sky+ Monday 31st August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I’ll admit to having seen this film before, most of my reviews are of films I’ve seen for the first time. Having said that, it was a long time ago and there were quite a lot of bits and pieces I’ve either forgotten, or missed first time around. One of the last films featuring the late, great John Candy, it’s always been one of my favourites. It tells the story of the first Jamaican Bobsleigh team to compete in the Winter Olympics in Calgary 1988. Although based on true events, I think a lot of poetic licence was used.

Derice Bannock is the son of an Olympic sprint champion and trained all his life to follow in his father’s footsteps. An accident at the Jamaican trials leaves him without a place on the Olympic team. Desperate to compete, he seeks out Irving ‘Irv’ Blitzer, a former American bobsleigh champion who happens to live on the island. Despite Irv’s initial reluctance, he is eventually persuaded to train Derice, along with his best friend, Sanka Coffie, the son of a rich man, and cause of the accident at the trials, Junior Bevil and the angry Yul Brenner. They begin training by pushing a cart down a Jamaican hill and jumping in it. Eventually they leave for Canada where they are, at first, ridiculed by the other teams and generally given a hard time due to an event in Irv’s past.

There are an awful lot of great comedy moments in this film and John Candy’s comic timing was just as good as ever. Great performances from all of the main characters, Leon as Derice Bannock, Doug E. Doug as Sanka Coffie, Rawle D. Lewis as Junior Bevil, Malik Yoba as Yul Brenner and, of course John Candy as Irving ‘Irv’ Blitzer. Not the greatest comedy in the world, but one you would feel comfortable watching with you parents, or leaving the kids in front of.

My score: 7/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0106611/

Film Review: I AM LEGEND (2007)

Director: Francis Lawrence
Running time: 98 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

Watched on DVD Sunday 30th August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This film, in case you didn’t know, is a remake of the 1971 film The Omega Man directed by Boris Sagal and starring Charlton Heston. Now, I have seen the original and as such I can’t help but draw comparisons between the two, you have been warned. In the modern version, the Will Smith character, Robert Neville, has a companion, his dog, Sam, whereas in the original, the Charlton Heston character of the same name has no companion. Why do I bring this trivial matter up, well, mainly because the underlying theme to the film is that Robert Neville is incredibly lonely, having lost all of his family and friends to the virus, and it is his loneliness that drives him to take some of the risks he does. I feel that the original film portrayed this so much better. But I digress…

Set in the near future, in a world where the vast majority of the Earth’s population has been wiped out by a virus that we are lead to believe was accidentally created by mankind, thinking they had a cure for cancer. Of those that are left, only a very few are totally immune, the rest are sensitive to daylight to the extent that they only come out at night. Robert Neville is a military doctor who is assigned to Manhattan in New York where, as the only survivor, he lives with his dog, Sam, and works on finding a cure. His wife and daughter were killed when the island was evacuated three years previous. As he thinks he is getting closer to a cure, he is beginning to notice a change in behaviour of the mutants, they are becoming more daring.

Although slightly flawed, it’s still a very good film. A creditable performance from Will Smith as Robert Neville, whose witty one-liners kept, what might otherwise have been, a rather dull script, alive. Honourable mentions go to Alice Braga as Anna and Charlie Tahan as Ethan, although they were not on screen for very long. Some really good CGI work as well, I particularly liked the herd of deer running through the desolate streets of New York. Over all, a pretty good effort, quite entertaining, although I did find it a bit depressing at times.

My score: 7/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0480249/
Official Site: http://iamlegend.warnerbros.com/_main_site/

Film Review: V FOR VENDETTA (2005)

Director: James McTeigue
Screenplay: The Wachowski Brothers (Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski)
Running time: 127 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

Watched on DVD Saturday 29th August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Set in a future that has parallels to George Orwell’s 1984, this film, based on a graphic novel by David Lloyd of the same name, tells the story of Evey and her involvement with the mysterious freedom fighter known simply as ‘V’. A really stunning film with characters you actually care about, this one ticked all of the boxes for me! More praise later, let me tell you something of the plot first.

Evey works for a TV company and is on her way to a late supper with her boss, Deitrich, when she is stopped by the secret police, known as the ‘finger’. It is past curfew and she should not be on the streets. They are about to exact punishment when the mysterious and masked vigilante ‘V’ comes to her rescue. He takes her to the rooftops where they watch as the Old Bailey, a famous London courthouse, is blown up by a bomb set by ‘V’. Evey awakes the next day not knowing that she is already a suspect in the bombing since her image was taken by security cameras. She goes to work, only for the TV station to become the next building to be attacked by ‘V’. He delivers a message over the air asking anyone wanting freedom from the oppressive regime that governs England to meet him in a year’s time on November the 5th outside Parliament. The police are already there when he’s finished and a battle ensues in which Evey is hurt. The next morning she wakes in the underground lair of the mysterious ‘V’. I will not tell you any more, but believe me, if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s well worth it!

A truly brilliant performance by Natalie Portman as Evey, I cannot give her enough praise, she was just stunning in this! Also excellent performances from Hugo Weaving as ‘V’, Stephen Rea as Inspector Finch, Stephen Fry as Deitrich, John Hurt as Adam Sutler (the evil High Chancellor) and Tim Pigott-Smith as Creedy. There are few films I watch these days that make me feel much emotion as I watch them these days, but this was a magnificent exception. I hadn’t heard much about it before seeing it, which, I think, added to my pleasure. Great production, without being over-produced and a really excellent story, I’ll sleep a happy man tonight.

My score: 9/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/
Official Site: http://vforvendetta.warnerbros.com/

Film Review: THE COVENANT (2006)

Director: Renny Harlin
Running time: 97 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 12A

Watched on Sky+ Monday 24th August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

To be honest I wasn’t over enthralled by this film. It was well made with a decent cast, a good soundtrack, etc, but it just didn’t seem like there was any substance to it. Maybe if the film had started with been a bit more background about how these ‘Sons of Ipswich’ came to have the powers they possess they maybe it would have grabbed my attention a bit more.

In 1692, in the Ipswich Colony of Massachusetts, five families of powerful witches commit to a covenant of silence to protect themselves against the witch hunters, but one of the families transgresses their pact and is banished. Over the centuries, the power and the covenant are transmitted through their descendants and when the eldest son is eighteen years old, he ascends to a higher power. However, the use of magic is addictive and if used in excess it ages the warlock. In the present day, four wizards, teenage friends, Pogue Parry, Tyler Simms, Reid Garwin and Caleb Danvers are in high school. Caleb is close to his eighteenth birthday and consequently to ascendancy. He has just met Sarah Wenham and they are dating, when the appearance of a darkling and supernatural dreams haunt the group. Soon they discover an evil warlock, a descendant of the fifth ancient family who threatens Sarah and wants to take Caleb’s power.

As I said at the beginning, quite a well made film, but not particularly one for me. It maybe the combination of occult/horror and teen flick that don’t really float my boat, but more likely it’s because it’s not a very coherent story. Having said that, the main characters did a reasonable job, so honourable mentions to Steven Strait as Caleb, Laura Ramsey as Sarah and Sebastian Stan as Chase Collins, the evil warlock. Over all, it’s an ok film if you’re into the teen/horror vibe, if your not, I’d probably avoid it.

My score: 4.5/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0475944/
Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/thecovenant/

Film Review: THE CREW (2008)

Director: Adrian Vitoria
Running time: 118 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 18

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 22nd August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is an interesting film, set in Liverpool about a ‘crew’, or a criminal gang. Run by Ged Brennan, they are an old-school gang who deal mainly in robberies, particularly truck hijackings. The film, although very violent at times, I found quite intriguing, I could engage with the characters and actually felt some sympathy for Ged when he is conned out of some cash. So, it’s quite well written and there are some good performances. More on that later, I’ll give you a bit of an overview of the plot first.

Ged Brennan and his ‘crew’ are planning a job, not knowing that Ged’s psychotic brother ‘Ratter’ and his side-kick ‘Paul the Hom’ have plans of their own. They have just killed one of the city’s main drug dealers and want financial backing to move into his former territory. Ged refuses, but keeps ‘Ratter’ on his crew. ‘Ratter’ eventually makes a deal with ‘Lepi’, the leader of a Serbian crew in the city. Part of that deal is to give ‘Lepi’ his brother & his brother’s territory. There a quite a few sub-plots going on around this, some of which are quite interesting, but I’ll let you watch the film for yourself to find those out.

As I said at the beginning, quite an interesting film, some great cinematography and the use of music throughout I found pretty good. Well written, well directed and some good performances, in particular, Scot Williams as Ged Brennan (although I felt he was a bit young for the role), Kenny Doughty as Ratter, Rory McCann as Moby, Stephen Graham as Franner and Cordelia Bugeja as Debs (Ged’s wife). Honourable mentions go to Philip Olivier as Paul the Hom, Rosie Fellner as Pamela Thompson and Raza Jaffrey as Keith Thompson. Over all, a pretty good effort although I did find the plot was a little over complicated at times.

My score: 6.5/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1071880/
Official Site: http://www.thecrewmovie.co.uk/

Film Review: THE HAPPENING (2008)

Writer/Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Running time: 86 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

Watched on DVD Wednesday 19th August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I’ll admit to being a bit of a fan of some of M. Night Shyamalan’s work, in particular The Village (2004), Unbreakable (2000) and The Sixth Sense (1999). Unfortunately, I found ‘The Happening’ a bit of a disappointment. It’s almost like he’s trying a bit too hard to make a film in the style of Alfred Hitchcock. I may be wrong, but that’s the impression I get. The concept of the story is fine, it’s just the execution seems, for me, a bit lacking somehow.

Elliot Moore is a science teacher in Philadelphia who has to leave town suddenly when people begin to mysteriously kill themselves. With him is his wife, Alma, his friend and colleague, Julian and Julian’s daughter, Jess. They take a train heading out of the city only to be abandoned in a small town when the train operators lose contact with everyone. Julian decides to go back to Philadelphia to find his wife, leaving Jess with Elliot and Alma. The three hitch a ride with some locals, but have trouble finding a way out of the affected area because at every turn, it seems, there are bodies in the way. Can the find a way out and, more importantly, what’s causing everyone to kill themselves?

Quite a tense thriller, but as I said at the beginning, it seems somewhat lacking. Decent performances from Mark Wahlberg as Elliot, Zooey Deschanel as Alma and John Leguizamo as Julian. I thought the best performance came from the young actress Ashlyn Sanchez as Jess. There are a few gory scenes, but over all it’s a bit of a miss in my book. A good way to kill an hour and a half… if you have it to kill, but otherwise you may want to avoid this one. We can but hope M Night Shyamalan’s next effort is much better.

My score: 5/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0949731/
Official Site: http://www.thehappeningmovie.com/

Film Review: IGOR (2008)

Director: Anthony Leondis
Running time: 85 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): PG

Watched on Sky+ Monday 17th August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I like animated films that are witty and clever and this one hit both criteria pretty much bang in the centre. Everything from the story line to the cast was spot-on. I can’t really understand why it didn’t do so well at the box-office, but I guess I’m partly to blame as I’m one of those who didn’t go and see it at the cinema. Anyhow, let’s have a bit about the plot.

Igor lives in the land of Malaria, a dark place where the ever-present clouds bring a gloom to the people. Because he has a hunch on his back, it’s Igor lot to be an Igor, an assistant to an evil scientist, Dr. Glickenstein. Igor dreams of being an evil scientist, but is stuck in a bit of a rut. He has created two creatures, Scamper, a rabbit that can’t die and Brain, basically a rather dumb brain in a jar. An accident kills Dr. Glickenstein and Igor takes the opportunity to complete his ultimate evil plan, to create life! The team work together and create Eva, who turns out to be not quite as evil as anticipated. Meanwhile, Dr. Schadenfreude, another evil scientist has plans to take Eva and claim her as his own invention at the Evil Scientists Fair. Also, King Malbert is suspicious because he hasn’t seen Dr. Glickenstein in a while. Can Igor keep Eva safe from Dr. Schadenfreude while keeping the secret that Dr. Glickenstein is actually dead from King Malbert?

I really enjoyed this film, great animation and great performances from the voice talents of John Cusack as Igor, John Cleese as Dr. Glickenstein, Steve Buscemi as Scamper, Sean Hayes as Brain, Eddie Izzard as Dr. Schadenfreude, Jay Leno as King Malbert and Molly Shannon as Eva. Over all, a great one for the youngsters with plenty of jokes for the adults, a really likeable evil genius of a movie!

My score: 7/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0465502/
Official Site (UK): http://www.igormovie.co.uk/
Official Site (USA): http://igor-movie.com/

Film Review: RATATOUILLE (2007)

Directors: Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava (co-director)
Running time: 111 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): U

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 9th August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This was a breath of fresh air, I liked it a lot. A well conceived, well written and excellently executed script, it was all you could ask of a modern Disney animated feature. When required, the rats looked like rats, the people looked like people and even the cars fitted the Paris backdrop (I know because I’ve been there). Here’s a summary.

Remy is a rat, the furry kind with a bald tail, and, as you might guess, he’s a rat who has a talent for food. Having been inspired by Chef Gusteau while watching TV, he finds himself in Paris at Gusteau’s restaurant. Unfortunately Chef Gusteau has passed away and the kitchen is now being run by Skinner, a small man with ambitious to own the restaurant. Gusteau’s illegitimate son, Linguini, gets a job as a garbage boy, but finds himself befriended by Remy when he accidentally ruins the soup and Remy fixes it. They discover a way that Remy can control Linguini’s actions and he gets a reputation for excellent cooking. Then Remy discovers the papers that prove the restaurant really belongs to Linguini and Skinner is displaced. As you might imagine, the plot gets kind of exciting from here on in, particularly if we throw in Remy’s estranged family, a scary food critic and Colette, a fellow chef and girlfriend of Linguini.

An extremely well made film, with an enjoyable plot, great dialogue and great animation by Pixar. Excellent performances from the voice talents of Patton Oswalt as Remy, Lou Romano as Linguini, Ian Holm as Skinner, Brian Dennehy as Django, Peter O'Toole as Anton Ego (the food critic) and Janeane Garofalo as Colette. Over all, great all round family entertainment and I highly recommend it!

My score: 8/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0382932/
Official Site: http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/ratatouille/

Film Review: SPACE CHIMPS (2008)

Co-Writer/Director: Kirk De Micco
Running time: 81 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): U

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 9th August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I am usually a fan of animated films, but I must say this is one of the worst I’ve seen to date. I know, as a forty-something male, I’m probably not the target audience, but even my ‘inner child’ didn’t like this one! There were probably only two moments that I found mildly amusing, it seems that the writers had a very bad week when they banged this one out. I’ll tell you a bit about the plot and then we’ll rant on a little more.

In the early days of space flight, some of the first pioneers were chimpanzees, and one of the best was Ham I. Years later, his grandson Ham III, is working as a human cannonball in a circus. Meanwhile, an unmanned space probe is sucked into a wormhole and transported across the universe to an earth-like planet with strange (cute, cartoon) alien life. Three chimps are kept at the space centre for the tourists to look at & it’s decided to send the chimps, rather than risk a human, to find out what happened to the probe. The wise-cracking Ham III is drafted in to give the mission some credence with the press. The chimps are trained and sent on their way, as you can guess; this is where the ‘fun’ starts.

I think the main problem with this film is that I didn’t engage with any of the characters, Ham III was really annoying & the rest of the chimps weren’t really much to write home about. The only characters I found remotely interesting were the scientists at the space centre. So, scientists good, chimps, not so good. The aliens were pretty dumb, and in some cases far too cute. So, the voice talents of Omid Abtahi as Dr Jagu, Patrick Breen as Dr Bob, Jane Lynch as Dr Poole, Kath Soucie as Dr Smothers and Stanley Tucci as the Senator were all good. Andy Samberg as Ham III, Cheryl Hines as Luna, Jeff Daniels as Zartog (an alien) and Patrick Warburton as Titan, not so good. Over all, a rather unfunny film that might keep the under four’s occupied for an hour (or so).

My score: 4/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0482603/
Official Site: http://www.spacechimpspower.com/

Film Review: THE COTTAGE (2008)

Writer/Director: Paul Andrew Williams
Running time: 92 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 18

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 8th August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is a film of two halves, the first half is very good, the second, not so good. I’m not sure exactly what writer/director Paul Andrew Williams was trying to achieve here. It starts well, characters and situation introduced quite nicely with some nice comic touches. But then it degenerates into a mindless gore fest for no reason I can fathom. The story was set up perfectly for something much more intelligent, but descended into another film entirely. It’s almost as if Paul Andrew Williams got some 15 year old horror freak to write the second half, or maybe I’m doing a disservice to 15 year old horror freaks! Anyhow, I’ll tell you something about the plot before I rant on any more.

Two brothers, David and Peter have kidnapped Tracey, the step-daughter of a gangster and night-club owner, in order to extort some money from him. They take her to a remote cottage where they tie her up in a bedroom while they carry out their plan. One of the brothers, Peter, is just a family man who doesn’t want any trouble. His nerdy appearance and manor make for some quite comical moments, especially when he’s trying to act tough. The much more street-wise David is finding it hard to deal with his brother’s total ineptitude. They contact the gangster and arrange a money- drop. This is carried out by the third conspirator, Andrew, the gangster’s son. Throw in some creepy locals who warn of no good coming to those who wander about at night, and a couple of hired Chinese (or Korean, I’m not sure) goons, and the first half of the film is complete. From here on it goes downhill rapidly, I’ll not say much, but needless to say the gore factor and body count go up considerably when they go wandering about at night…

Quite well shot on the Isle of Man, although the location in the film is supposed to be somewhere outside London. Decent performances from the main characters, Andy Serkis as David, Reece Shearsmith as Peter, Jennifer Ellison as Tracey and Steven O'Donnell as Andrew. I don’t really have much else to say about this one, it started out as a Horror/Comedy but I’m not sure it made it as either and my score of 5/10 is only for the first half of the film.

My score: 5/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0465430/
Official Soundtrack Site: http://www.moviescoremedia.com/cottage.html

Film Review: RAMBO (2008)

Co-Writer/Director: Sylvester Stallone
Running time: 87 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 18

Watched on DVD Thursday 6th August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is an extremely graphically violent movie. From watching the extras on the DVD, it seems the effect of shooting someone with a 50 calibre bullet is portrayed very accurately. And, believe me, it’s not pretty. Having said that, the setting for the film and the story it portrays is quite interesting.

John Rambo, now living a quiet life in Thailand, is commissioned by a group of missionaries to take them across the border into war-torn Burma. Reluctantly Rambo agrees and takes them up river where, after an altercation with some pirates he leaves them. Not long after they arrive the village they are at is attacked by government troops and they are taken prisoner. Rambo is told of their capture and is persuaded to take a band of mercenaries into Burma on a mission to retrieve the missionaries. As you can probably guess, from here it gets really bloody and really violent.

An extremely gory and violent movie, as I’ve already said, but also a film that makes you consider what is actually going on in Burma today. Stallone is very good at making the viewer hate the bad guy, and in this film I really hated the government troops. They were brutal to the extreme! As usual, an excellent performance from Mr Stallone in the starring role also excellent performances from Julie Benz as Sarah, Matthew Marsden as School Boy and Graham McTavish as Lewis. Honourable mentions go to Reynaldo Gallegos as Diaz, Jake La Botz as Reese, Tim Kang as En-Joo and Maung Maung Khin as Tint. Over all, a very gory and violent action adventure that has a political element, it does what it says on the tin.

My score: 7/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0462499/
Official DVD Site: http://www.rambofilm.com/

Film Review: PAN’S LABYRINTH (2006) [a.k.a. El Laberinto del Fauno]

Writer/Director: Guillermo del Toro
Running time: 113 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

Watched on DVD Wednesday 5th August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Set in the fascist Spain of 1944, this film counterpoints the harsh brutality of a country torn apart by civil war with the fantasy world visited by the young Ofelia. It has had some rave reviews, so I watched it with a little scepticism. I had no reason, those critics were correct, it’s quite brilliant. Maybe it’s because the film is in Spanish, so I watched it with subtitles, which meant I had to concentrate all the way through, but it really blew me away!

Ofelia and her sick and pregnant mother, Carmen, travel to be with her husband, Ofelia’s stepfather, at a garrison in the mountains. The husband, Captain Vidal is a sadistic and cruel fascist who only wants a son and heir. Ofelia is obsessed with fairy tales and is enchanted by the labyrinth that lies behind their dwelling. She goes into the labyrinth where she meets a faun who tells her that she is a princess from a kingdom in the underground. She is given three gruesome and gruelling tasks to perform before she can be reunited with her father, the king. Meanwhile, the garrison is under threat of attack from rebels in the hills, one of which is the brother of Ofelia’s friend, the servant Mercedes. Ofelia is drawn more and more into the fantasy world in order to escape the harsh realities going on all around. Her only hope is that she can complete the tasks and be reunited with her father again.

There are several very brutal scenes that you may not expect in a film like this, however, they serve very well to show the harshness of the world Ofelia finds herself in. I must take my hat off to Guillermo del Toro; he has come up with a truly magical film. Brilliant sets, costumes, make-up, production design and music (I’m listening to some of the score right now… it’s magical). Excellent performances from Ivana Baquero as Ofelia, Sergi López as Captain Videl, Maribel Verdú as Mercedes, Doug Jones as the Faun and the Pale Man and Ariadna Gil as Carmen Vidal. Honourable mentions go to Álex Angulo as the Doctor and Manolo Solo as Garcés. Over all, a magical film set in a brutal and very real world. If you’ve never seen it, I can’t recommend it highly enough!

My score: 9.5/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0457430/
Official (English) Site: http://www.panslabyrinth.com/

Film Review: HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (2008)

Co-Writer/Director: Guillermo del Toro
Running time: 120 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 12A

Watched on DVD Monday 3rd/Tuesday 4th August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I have always found the films of Guillermo del Toro very mystical and stylish, well those I’ve seen anyway. I liked Cronos (1993) (featuring Ron Pearlman), Mimic (1997), Blade II (2001) and of course Hellboy (2004). Unfortunately I haven’t seen Pan's Labyrinth (2006) yet, but its part of the DVD collection and on the list to be watched soon. I mention Pan’s Labyrinth because, having seen some of the extras on the DVD, it’s a film that gets spoken about often and, from the clips I’ve seen of it, I can see similarities in style. Anyhow, we’re here to talk about Hellboy II: The Golden Army, so here goes.

In days of lore Balor, king of the magical Elfin race, after many years of war between the elves and humans, commissions the creation of a “Golden Army”, 70 times 70 mechanical soldiers. The army attacked the humans, showing no mercy, and Balor, consumed by regret, agrees a truce with the humans whereby the humans keep to the cities and the elves would keep the forests. His crown, which allows him or anyone with royal blood, control of the army is broken into three. One piece he gives to the humans and the other two he keeps for himself. His son, Prince Nuada, did not agree with the truce and went into exile, vowing to return when his people needed him.

We switch to modern times where Hellboy, Liz Sherman (now Hellboy’s girlfriend) and Abe Sapien along with members of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence continue their battle with all creatures paranormal. Unknown to them Prince Nuada has returned and is looking for the piece of the crown held by the humans. He takes it with the help of his assistant, the monster known as Mr. Wink and a bunch of ravenous ‘tooth fairies’. Hellboy and the team set out to find the prince, assisted by a new agent, Johann Krauss, and Prince Nuada’s sister Princess Nuala. They must find the prince before he can re-activate the Golden Army.

As with all recent Guillermo del Toro films, I found the set design, costumes, cinematography, make-up and production superb. I think Ron Perlman is perfect for the part of Hellboy and there were also great performances from Selma Blair as Liz, Doug Jones as Abe, Doug Jones, James Dodd & Seth MacFarlane (voice) as Johann Krauss, Luke Goss as Prince Nuada and Anna Walton as Princess Nuala. I think the only thing that let the film down was that, although very stylish, the story seemed to lack a little depth. I didn’t really feel for the characters. Over all, an entertaining, magical, mystical fantasy adventure.

My score: 7.5/10

Film Review: ANGELS & DEMONS (2009)

Director: Ron Howard
Running time: 138 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Watched at the cinema Saturday 23rd May 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

First of all, apologies to Rosie, we went to see this film over two months ago and I’ve only just got round to reviewing it. So, thanks for the reminder yesterday and I’ll try to be a bit more prompt with my reviews in future.

I had read the Dan Brown novel before seeing the film. There are a lot of differences between the two, but the main plot line of the book remains. I will try to not dwell too much on the differences between the novel and the film, so as to review the film as a stand-alone work. I must say though that Ron Howard is one of my favourite directors, having directed some of my all-time favourite films, including Cocoon (1985), A Beautiful Mind (2001) and the absolutely brilliant Apollo 13 (1995).

The Pope has died and his successor is to be chosen from the conclave of assembled Cardinals. Four of their number, the preferitti, have been kidnapped and the other Cardinals are unaware that a bomb, comprised of antimatter, has been hidden in the Vatican. Symbologist Robert Langdon is called in and he must decipher clues left the ancient group known as the Illuminati before the bomb goes off and the four kidnapped Cardinals are murdered. He has the help of beautiful physicist Vittoria Vetra, whose father was killed when the antimatter for the bomb was stolen and the head of the Swiss Guard, who protect the Vatican City, Commander Richter. There are many plot twists in this tale of treachery and revenge, as more clues are revealed and the Illuminati take retribution for centuries of persecution.

This is an exciting thriller with some great action and a fast-moving plot. I thought the cinematography and the costumes were very well done. The setting had to be Rome and the Vatican City, although I have read that the Catholic Church banned filming in any church. Given that, the locations were excellent. The performances by all of the main characters were also excellent, Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna, Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria Vetra and Stellan Skarsgård as Commander Richter. Honourable mentions go to Pierfrancesco Favino as Inspector Olivetti and Nikolaj Lie Kaas as the Assassin. Over all, an enjoyable, fast-moving thriller which had a quite complicated plot, so you have to concentrate. I did find it a little long though at 138 minutes.

Thanks to Rosie for accompanying me!

My score: 7/10

Film Review: KUNG FU PANDA (2008) [Animated]

Directors: Mark Osborne and John Stevenson
Running time: 92 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): PG

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 30th July 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

The Panda is a slow animal, it takes its time to eat, digest and sleep… most of all they like to sleep. They are not renowned for their speed and agility, just two of the traits, I’m told, are quite good to have when practicing Kung Fu. Unfortunately none of the above is related to the audience of this film, which I found quite bad since that’s the joke, it is not in a panda’s nature to fight, particularly using Kung Fu! Anyhow, I digress, let’s tell you about the movie.

Po is a panda who lives in The Valley of Peace. He works for his father, a duck (I think) for some bizarre reason, running a noodle shop. Po is also a massive fan of ‘The Furious Five’ -- Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey -- legendary Kung Fu warriors. Word is sent that an ancient prophecy is to be fulfilled and that ‘The Dragon Warrior’ is to be chosen. By a quirk of fate the chosen one happens to be Po. He must now train beside his heroes ‘The Furious Five’ under the leadership of their guru Master Shifu. Before they know it, the evil Snow Leopard Tai Lung escapes from prison and is out for revenge on the Valley of Peace and it’s up to Po as the Dragon Warrior to defend them.

Made by DreamWorks, as expected, the animation is really well done and, apart from the omission I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I found it pretty entertaining. There were not too many ‘laugh out loud’ moments for me, but it was well made with a plot that was easy to follow. The voice work by Jack Black as Po, Dustin Hoffman as Shifu, Angelina Jolie as Tigress and Ian McShane as Tai Lung were all very well done. Honourable mentions go to the voice talents of Jackie Chan as Monkey, Seth Rogen as Mantis, Lucy Liu as Viper, David Cross as Crane and Randall Duk Kim as Oogway. Over all, not too bad, but would have benefited from a few more laughs… or maybe I just don’t find Jack Black funny…

My score: 6.5/10